Dawn Patrol

A knife is anything portable and sufficiently thin to cut. I’ve found eyeglass earpieces that were sharpened to scalpels and plastic toothbrushes sharpened to puncture. A knife is primitive- no matter the skill and technology that went into it, the knife is an exemplar of more primitive, less civilized times. –Rory Miller



Ben posted that the Dawn Patrol Open Mat in Bellevue (6am to 8am) was on for the morning after Thanksgiving, and I was impressed with his doggedness, so I "like"ed it. Then he PM'ed me and said, "Does this mean you're coming?" I had to work all night till 7:30am, so I said, "I'll throw my gi in the car and see if I feel up to dropping in for the last 20 min."

I got there and stuck my head in, and called, "I see a lot of guys sitting around on the mat yakking and not much rolling!" I also saw Hostility Boy- so I stalled a little, hoping he'd flake off... and thank you God, he did.

Ben and Aussie Dave were kind enough to stay for another hour, during which the three of us did rotating 8 min spars with no jackets, and they attacked my legs every which way. It was great. Although this does point up what an incredible body of work I have on my plate to become proficient at this sort of thing. It sure is a a different game in no gi. It sure is a different game at purple and above. Combine the two, and damn I have a lot of learning to do.

Ben got my arm trapped up over my head three times. The final time, he baited me into it... I resisted sticking my arm up there for some time, but I finally did it, and on he clamped.

I wasn't sure how I would like doing an open mat on my way home from work in the morning, but I really enjoyed that.