Sparring

Tuesday kung fu. Still feeling rather down about what happened last night at Gracie's. We got into the classroom a bit early, and normally I would have wanted to use that opportunity to pull out a mat and pounce on one of my buddies- but I was just not in the mood to get tapped by any of them, and even less in the mood to have any of them HAND me a tap because they felt bad for me. Just didn't want to face it tonight.

We warmed up with some forms. I decided to be all complacent today about it and do everything tai chi speed, so that I was *sort of* "staying in sync" with the slower people.

Then CN had us drag out some mats to spar! I was really surprised, especially after what happened on Saturday with SK and JM.... I assumed sparring would get back-burnered again. I wonder how much CK talked to CN about the sparring.

Anyway, CN had us come up one by one to do five minutes or so against SK. Instant pressure: everybody else is sitting there watching. Instant pressure relief: I only have to fight SK, whom I enjoy sparring and feel relatively safe sparring. I don't have to deal with Nemesis and my physical challenges around him; nor with JM and my personal issues around her; nor with general intimidation around both Nemesis and JoE. JaE was there too, and I have never sparred him before at all. He's big and strong. Not sure how that would go.

Anyway, CN was there to remind us frequently to not get too fast and hard, to make sure nothing dangerous happened, to offer the occasional bit of advice.

As soon as Nemesis started sparring, I could see CK's "fingerprints" all over him (her turn of phrase). It mostly went away as soon as he sped up a little, heh heh. But I could definitely see a shadow of the balance and weight "contact improv" type movement.

I watched JM with some anxiousness. It was apparent that she was intimidated, but she faced it. I made a point of telling her in the car on the way home that her sparring had looked good, which it did. She has excellent kicks, and her centered balance is awesome right up until she gives it away as a freebie gift to her opponent (which she did frequently) Once she grows out of that, though, her balance and centering is going to be one of her best strengths.

JoE seemed to still be having some problems with control, and with getting carried away with the hard and fast. He got one really, really lovely throw (eliciting admiring "Ooooooo"'s from the audience).

JaE, whom I don't think has gotten much chance to spar SK yet, has not yet learned to refrain from chasing and whacking ineffectually at the constant barrage of Snake strikes.

SK made it all look so easy. He looked very relaxed the whole time, and he never looked like he was breathing fast or trying hard. He did five-minute rounds with all five of us, back to back with no breaks. Twice. An inspiration to grow into.

As for my own first round, my number one goal was to stay calm and centered. Particularly since I was still stinging over last night, I wanted to make sure I did not allow myself to get angry and frustrated when I got whapped a few times- or when the barrage of Snake strikes just kept coming. I told myself to not get too antsy about closing and striking; to just play it cool and look for openings. This is not really my usual sparring MO, but I have had to fall into this a bit during all the recent sparring with CK.

Speaking of- SK's good, but he cannot yet compete on a level with CK's vast sparring experience insofar as openings go. Meaning- CK fights like an armored tank; she leaves you few to no openings to exploit... so the ones that SK was leaving appeared gaping and obvious by contrast. So I hung back and did mostly shin/knee kicks- landed lots of good solid ones. I was afraid to try for kicks at waist level, because I know SK's really good at snatching that leg before you can retract- and then you're hosed. I saw a few openings for belly strikes, but didn't land most of them because I wasn't in range (trying to stay out of reach of his long arms). Likewise with the head strikes- I saw some openings and tried for them, but wasn't in range. I did get one perfect sharp face whack, though- we both laughed, because that's HIS game, and it came off looking just like one of his, too- so that was funny.

I was pleased with how I'd been able to stay focussed on looking for openings, and then follow up and try to get in on them.

I was also pleased with my improved attempt-to-successful-hit ratio. I tried vastly fewer attacks, but a greater percentage of the ones I did try were solid. Less desperate randomly-aggressive flailing and hoping to get lucky. More DELIBERATE.

Near the final third or so of our spar, DD walked in- to my surprise and consternation. I immediately found myself much more distracted and much more self-conscious. It was bad enough with everybody else watching- but having DD there makes me so jittery. My second spar, with him there the whole time, I did much more poorly. It was mostly my lack of focus and lack of being able to relax, I'm fairly sure.

In the car on the way home, SK did give me more positive feedback on my stances... he said that he had tried to take me down or mess with my balance several times, and he knew that he was executing the techniques correctly and well, but I was just "sinking" and they were simply not working on me. Nice to hear. Even with as little standup as we do at Gracie's, the experience of resisting takedowns by all those big guys has made a difference.

Another thing- now that I have some BJJ, I'm not scared of being taken down. I always have an excellent sense of where I am and where my opponent is in space. I feel confident about executing maneuvers (including effective strikes) *while* falling, and once I hit the ground, there are more opportunities for strikes and holds from there- even if he's still on his feet. Falling or being taken down is no longer an "oh shit" moment or a failure; it's just another position to fight from just like any other.... and in fact one that I feel more comfortable and confident in than many!

So after the sparring, DD huddled with CN and SK and the rest of us were left mostly to our own devices to review staff/dao material. I worked the staff vs dao sequence a number of times with JM, and drilled solo on most of the dao and staff techniques that we've worked on this quarter. Did the Northern Mantis Bo form in slow-mo, focussing on good hand positions along the length of the staff. Eventually had had enough of that for one session, so I went out in the hall where nobody could watch and went through Five Animals In the Mirror a few times. I have let my work on my "Mirror" forms lapse. This one came back quickly, though, and felt solid.


Good sparring practice. Not too rough, and useful. Would like more of this.