Thursday

“Great dancers are not great because of their technique,
they are great because of their passion.”
- Martha Graham



Note to self: do not use the lotion at work on mat burn or any other compromised skin. It claims to be scent-free and is made for use in a hospital setting, so I thought it would be okay, but it is *SO* not.

Sunday FOD: Touch Bridge. Standard version only. Do not forget the thrusty shovel kick right after the Tiger forearm wipes, and before the turn. Also: the kneel after the swirly figure-8 Dragon move is fist on BOTTOM, flat hand on TOP.

Resolution: end all my forms in fists-at-ribs chamber, to be followed by front hand-over-fist salute. I had fallen into the habit of imitating JM and adding a press-palms toward the floor after the fists-at-ribs chamber... because it looked crisp and neat-o. I think all of us fell into the habit of imitating that, since that girl was always standing in the front as if she was leading the class. JM is out of my life now, I can forget that she ever existed, and I do not need her lame fingerprints on my formwork. So there.


Monday FOD: Leopard at Dawn



Tuesday FOD: Tai Chi long form. How many hundreds… maybe even into the triple figures by now… of times have I repped the opening sequence of this form (which repeats in the openings off all three empty-hands tai chi forms)? It would be interesting to see the biofeedback stats, because I can feel all sorts of things happening on a cellular level as soon as I begin- even if I'm not feeling particularly relaxed and focussed. If you rep it enough times, a switch gets thrown on cue even if you're not wholly invested.

A few places where I had to stop and figure out sequence, in the spots where techniques repeat over and over in all three forms. I shudder to think what a tangled web this would be by now if I was being more sloppy about upkeep than I am.



Thursday: 133.0

Thursday lunchtime BJJ at Gracie Bellevue. This was my first time in the newly remodeled Bellevue school. The room is the same, but there is a second room beside it (connected by a door) that is almost as big... as well as a women's changing area (yay!) and a second bathroom (yay!)

Lots of warmup drills. The new mats are slippery!

One of the reasons I prefer going to Seattle instead of Bellevue (despite the longer drive and the horrid traffic) is that there is a much better likelihood of finding appropriate partners for me in Seattle. Today, being the last kid left on the sidelines after all the other kids had been picked for the kickball teams bought me a partnership with Professor Carlos. Yay! He even used me for some of the demos, which was an honor. I almost never get used for demos at GB. Even when I'm the ranking student in the room, the profs tend to pick someone closer to their own size to demo with... especially Carlos; I must admit that towering Carlos and I working together look like a clown act. I get so nervous and anxious on the rare occasions when I am asked to be the demo dummy at GB, as I'm always afraid I'll screw up really bad and look like a moron in front of all those people. This time, I only screwed up once... and the Prof was very nice about it, and corrected me, and I did it right the second time.

From the knees, double leg drills.

Then, from the knees, double leg. opponent sprawls and goes to the side.

Same, then variation a: opponent at the side gable grips over one shoulder and chest like a Miss America sash. pull opponent overtop of you and to the side, get one hook it. Pull opponent to the other side (using the LEG, don't pull hir over your chest and face! I had to be corrected on that) and get the second hook in.

Same, then variation b: this time the person who went to the side puts down the knee closest to the turtled person's head. Turtled person hugs that knee as if they're going to try for a single leg. Opponent gable grips around one shoulder and chest like a Miss America sash, and figure-4's hir feet to grip the other person's arm. Then dive over hir head, pull hir overtop of you, and switch the legs (if you fail to do this, the position you end up in allows the person to pull hir arm right out). Then clock choke and/or crucifix. Don't forget to use your hand to feed the collar to your other hand (I needed to be corrected on this as well). It was great to drill with Carlos, as he was able to really perfect everything for me.

One roll with the Prof. Of course he whalloped me, and I was gassing and panting like a spaniel, but I don't think I shamed myself too badly. We got to our feet at one point. I am so happy that my kung fu experience makes me unafraid of standup. Even facing a black belt whose head almost brushes the ceiling, I know he's gonna take me down, but I'm not *afraid*. Or too intimidated to work with it. I even defended a couple of his takedown attempts (granted he was going easy), and tried a couple of things myself.

Finally he got me in a choke and held me there while I wiggled helplessly like a worm on a hook. I tried every angle, and every single direction I could move in just tightened the choke worse.


One roll with a white belt guy. I was on top almost all the time, got some mounts, some KOB's. Finished one armbar, but that was all. He had a sprained wrist, so I didn't want to try to keylock him. He was defending most of my sub attempts well, and I gave him a few hints on the occasions when he didn't seem to be defending what I was going for... so I might have gotten a couple more subs if I hadn't been being nice.

We had to stop and move twice because we bumped into the Prof and his partner. The third time, my partner rolled over Carlos' foot, and Carlos had to go to the sidelines for a few minutes. I felt reeeeally bad. Carlos' legs are soooo long, and he uses up so much mat when he rolls. You can start out halfway across the mat from him, and in ten seconds you're crashing into each other. It was my partner's and my job to stay out of HIS way, though, so I felt bad.

One more half a roll with John (half a roll because he gassed out and quit halfway through). He was muscling me some, and I wasn't doing very well against him.



Black Crane Drill #5:

Begin in Black Crane high guard facing east and looking north.

Circle-and-grab with left hand in front of face, clasp fist near rt jaw.

Inside-to-outside crescent kick to north with rt foot. You have grabbed and kicked opponent #1. As you are kicking, scissor your straight and fisted rt arm to north overtop of the leg in the opposite direction.

As you put your foot back down (you are now in a high fwd stance with left foot in front), turn torso back to north with a snap. At the same time, palm-heel your left hand to the rear over your rt shoulder (palm facing south) and palm-heel your rt hand to the rear, groin level (fingers down, palm facing south). Note that this is similar to Five Points Of the Star. This is your 2nd opponent.

Step back a little more, kneel on left knee, and hoist the 2nd opponent who is behind you over your shoulder to drop hir on the ground in front of you. Note that you are not so much PULLING hir over your shoulder as you are getting UNDERNEATH hir.

Place hands on ground, back kick rt leg upward into groin of your 3rd opponent approaching from the rear. Do not kick till you LOOK and make sure you have targeted correctly.

Set rt foot down behind left, stand up and turn rt to face south. As you turn, bring rt elbow up beside rt ear to block. Left front punch belly level to south (3rd opponent) as you finish the turn. End in south-facing front stance (rt foot forward) with rt fist chambered at waist, Left fist with arm straight out belly level.

Hop a little to your left (east) and land on left foot, with rt fist guarding groin and rt hand in Black Crane guard at left jaw. Low snap kick to knee level east, left foot. (This is your 4th opponent.)

Rechamber foot, slide into a front stance facing east (left foot in front) as you double punch your 4th opponent head level to east. Your wrists are crossed, fists rotating. Rt fist on top.

Make a 1/2 turn to your rt to face west, bring hands straight-armed up-and-over back to Black Crane high guard and look north. You are now in the mirror pose of the stance you started in. Repeat drill on opposite side.