On the Mat Day 402: Superhero Battles

Last night was my 2nd night of training in a row. I usually do a day on and a day off. I remember going on consecutive days when I was a white belt and it killed me, but now I guess my body has adjusted to the physical stress because I feel good today. If the dojo was just down the road I'd do more nights in a row after getting the kids washed and in bed (yes, my job).

I traveled to training with a bit of a bad attitude. I was still pissed off from getting kneed in the eye on Friday and receiving no apology from the person who did it. Basically, I felt annoyed that I roll to not hurt people while some of them go balls out to hurt me, knees and elbows flying. So, I decided to take no more shit and grind my opponent into the mat at any given chance. The thing is, I am such a nice guy, that by the end of the night I didn't feel like doing that especially to people I benefit from rolling with and I know they are not targeting me, like Dmitri and Yoshida-san, guys who have an interest in me getting better along with them. This is a super important trait to have in team mates.

Reconstruction of flying guard pass by rough dude

So, onto sparring. I went up against the rough dude, smacked palms and fists much harder than I do, then went on to bow and arrow choke him, which I kept holding for a little longer than usual because he was doing tiny taps (which means he was reluctantly tapping). If you've done BJJ long enough you will see this from guys who lack respect or humility. After this Dmitri and I were going to spar but instead rough dude asked Matt to spar and despite there being a roomful of people, everyone stopped and sat on the sidelines to see what would happen. It was that obvious. Both of them are strong guys, aggressive and use more muscle than technique (although Matt is getting better especially in guard). It was like the Hulk versus the Thing. Matt tried to play guard, while rough dude began to fly through the air at him to pass his guard when he got frustrated, I'm surprised Matt didn't eat a knee. At one point, the guy wanted to break Matt's grip and ripped his arm backwards with all his might and almost smacked one of the spectators behind him in the face - it was laughable. Probably as close to a real fight as you could get without punching. I just hate this kind of attitude but it certainly made for an entertaining night.