Contrasts

Pain is just weakness leaving the body.


This afternoon's class was a dramatic study in contrasts.


Lunchtime BJJ GBBell. I was very careful to de-cathair my gi: I washed it with an extra rinse, flapped it outdoors, and instead of wearing it on the commute as I usually do, I tape-rollered it in the locker room before putting it on. I hope that was sufficient.

Dreels to start: Opponent in your guard, foot on bicep, triangle with arm wrapped to outside, turn into omoplata (keep back on the floor), back to triangle. Triangle stuff is always a challenge for me. I was drilling with Nelson, who is so broken that he really should not have come. His knee is in a brace (bad soccer injury), his elbow was dislocated last week by some spastic blue belt, and that's not even counting all the taped digits and usual miscellaneous hurts.  Of cuorse I was only drilling this on his good arm, and I asked him about ten times if he was okay as I was placing my foot (very carefully) on the bicep of his bad arm. It was mostly his knee causing him trouble; he had to pause a few times and stretch it out and make faces. He insisted on drilling both sides, even though I kept telling him to take it easy. I told him (as I do frequently) how nice it is to work with him, he is one of my very favorite classmates in the whole place. He told me the same, which was really nice to hear (especially in light of what happened later).


Positional training from closed guard, pass vs sweep, with a half dozen different people rotating. (I told Nelson he should sit this out, and he wouldn't listen.... at least he wasn't foolish enough to do open mat).  The usual discomfort of frequent partner-switching was alleviated a bit by the fact that Carlos was making the last two people to get paired up for each round do pushups. I'm more assertive about grabbing random men- and they are less assertive about avoiding me- when the alternative is pushups.


One of the guys I worked with was a nice friendly brown belt visiting from Hawaii.


Eight minute rolls: the first pairing was me and Hostility Boy. Oh, heck.


The asswipe stuck BOTH hands in his belt and rolled with me that way. And since the gods are not kind enough to make technical skill and assholery mutually exclusive (I really need to send up a petition to that effect), he got me in bottom side control and armless scarf a few times and then just lay there on me.


I guess if my options are this versus having him sub me thirty times in two minutes while breaking both arms and a few vertebrae, I'd rather have this... but COME ON. Really? Why do you have to be such an asshole?   This is a guy who is techically very good, he's strong, he has good competitive aggression, but he is just NOT A TEAM PLAYER. Would you want this guy- no matter how skilled at omoplatas- representing your school? You could just cut the contempt with a knife. How much of a self-absorbed arrogant prick do you have to be to feel like it's okay to treat people like that?


I should be grateful that out of this really populous school, there are only two ripe jerks (and this one is out of town at college most of the time right now)- not counting the handful whose backward religions tell them that I am too dirty for them to touch. Most of the guys are ranging from fine to really great, and I'm thankful for that. But this guy- geez. And to go straight from NELSON to THIS. That'll give you whiplash.


After that, I was ready to sit on the wall and nurse my wounded dignity, but the prof was motioning me out. He rolled with me a little and corrected me on a bunch of things. 1)Do not do technical lift or otherwise press my foot right on a standing guy's knee- especially the inside of it. I tend to get sloppy assuming that my slight weight has no chance of injuring anyone, but he's right- just no. 2)Break guard and turn body sideways. I'm afraid of getting triangled, but he wants me to control the matward leg and stop worrying about that. 3)When caught in footlock, grab the lapel- don't just brace and push frantically with the other foot.


I feel like this is all stupid elementary crap that I shouldn't need to be told at this point, and it's embarrassing- but the difference is that Carlos doesn't act CONTEMPTUOUS. He doesn't act like I'm a waste of his time or that I'm unworthy to be breathing the same air. Thankfully, he is usually pretty patient.


Brandon, that enormous teenage green belt, turned 16 today and recieved his blue belt. Awesome. I was happy to be there to see that. His dad was there too.