Did you puke?

Stealing from the gods the fire of passion and creativity to lighten our life is just the first step of the trip, not the destination. Passion and creativity are not our private property, not our very own toys. They are the sparks lighting the fire of a big tribal camp. Having talent and not cultivating it is a crime, but cultivating it without sharing its fruits with others may be even worse. In its highest form, the way of the warrior is that of the bodhisatva: putting one’s talent at the service of a superior destiny. Daniele Bolelli, On The Warrior’s Path

4:30 basics class: no teacher today, so we just did round-robin sparring. Ben repeatedly gets around-the-neck gi chokes on me, mostly from the back but also other positions. Must work harder on defending that, with him.

5:30 competition class: we did the same thing we did this morning, and also a variation: stopping at the hip-to-hip with you in turtle and opponent having your lapels: you trap the arm on the side nearest the opponent, stick the OPPOSITE leg out, and then place the shoulder nearest the opponent onto the mat. Now you do the same thing we did this morning. It was just enough difference to confuse me. Also, the stupid side is REALLY REALLY stupid with this technique (both variations)! I am letting my arms fly up and back too much while rolling on top of the opponent- when I tried it on Carlos, he trapped my arms over my head (Twice!).. embarrassing!!

Drills of both variations for a long time, switching partners.... then short spars with everyone (no closed guard or half guard allowed- keep moving)... then shark tank with Casey in the middle. We all walked around and around in a circle as he sparred Carlos. Every couple of minutes, a guy on the sidelines yelled a different number, and whichever person was assigned that number jumped in while the previous opponent jumped out. Casey had to bail after a while, and the rest of us got a turn in the shark tank. I find this game really fun, although being in the middle sucks mud.

Saw Casey again on the way out, looking green.... "Did you puke?" "Yeah, a little."

I usually eat after I get home and shower, but not tonight- gonna have to wait a while, because I think if I tried to eat now, I'd puke, too....  You know you've had a good workout when you think you're going to puke....

Apparently Ritchie choked Ron out in last weekend's tournament- golly. He used the same cross-collar choke from guard that he got me with when I fought him in the "mock tournament" a couple months ago.