On the Mat Day 350: Lasso Spider Guard

Weary, is what I felt last night. Despite this, I feel great this morning after only sleeping 7 hours. For some reason, Tuesday doing Jiu-jitsu is like working at my company on a Monday morning, I feel lethargic, don't want to be there and generally don't perform well. But I suppose that is part of the grappling lifestyle, the only way to get better is to push through the boundaries, train when you don't feel like it, and suck it up. They say that a black belt is a white belt who never gave up. I can relate to that. I've persevered through some rough patches with BJJ. Injuries aside it's been an uphill struggle with my ego and the limitations of my body. I'm just thankful I found such a great way of keeping fit and healthy while engaging my mind.

Last night, F-sensei showed us the triangle from spider guard. Starting off with full spider guard and pulling the opponent into it, then moving on to more advanced moves with the ultimate goal of getting the triangle. He did lasso spider guard at the end which I use a lot and my fingers don't thank me for the next day. There were some new variations that I should get down on video.

Tsuzuki-san commented at the end of play that my defense was tight. He used the word "katai" which usually means a negative aspect of something, like "You are too tight, loosen up a little." but in this case he meant my defense was hard to break. It was basically the only thing I could do. I was so exhausted at the end plus I know if I move wrong a certain way he will nail me with something, which he did with a collar choke from rear mount towards the end.

When I got home I stepped on the scales. I was around 73.5kg before leaving the house and 72kg when I got back. I drank about a liter of sports drink too so must have lost a hell of a lot of fluid. That explains the tiredness in some part. I think I don't drink enough during the day also.

Last night I noticed that Roy Dean has published a book about himself that runs at 111 pages entitled "The Martial Apprentice". It's actually free to download. I've just started it and interested to find that he lived in Aichi, which is where I am. He was probably here when I was too but as a young high school boy. God, that must have been hell for him conforming to their school system.

Sparring time: 7 x 6 mins = 42 mins