But I still can't fly!

Most people are grass-eaters with their heads down on the ground. The jackals and lions know this and think of them as that. Hold your head up and walk like you are the biggest, baddest lion that walks. The jackals and lions will notice and leave you alone because they don't want to get hurt. Don't challenge them because they might feel they have to respond to it. All you want is their respect, not their dignity. -Greg Hamilton

Monday 12/3: Day One of Jobless Jiu Jitsu Camp!

I resolve to do a Form Of the Day every day of JJJC.

Today's  FOD: free choice. I chose Leopard Fist.

I've been improving my diet in the last couple days. Still need to work on the soda decrease. No more being stuck in an office for 10.5 hours a night with a snack table. No more taking sleeping pills so that I can make sure to get enough sleep before work (I discovered that the sleeping pills themselves are a cause of weight gain, on top of the poor sleep itself being a factor).

Injury check: I have determined that the guy with the electric drill in my shoulder blade is indeed a redoux of that high right-sided rear rib injury that floored me so badly last spring. It's only moderately intense at the moment, but the prospect of hurting it worse during JJJC is scary. The increase in classes plus the fact that people are going to be gunning for me worse, for at least a while... It would suck mightily to end up on the bench, so I'll have to watch it.

I'm trying to work up my nerve to walk into class with my new accessory. What's going to be even scarier is walking into Sleeper with it. I feel so incredibly self conscious.
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Monday lunchtime BJJ at GB Seattle.   New belt is so stiff I can barely get it tied, LOL. (To those who congratulated me, I said in a querulous voice, "But I still can't fly... I thought it was supposed to have superpowers? Maybe it needs batteries....")  Vince jumped on me before I even had my headgear on, and we rolled around a little before class started.

Standup: Opponent throws punch. You change level, scoot in and place hands on backs of opponent's thighs just above knees. Opponent turns and headlocks you (you are now both facing the same direction).

You place the hand nearest the opponent around hir waist. Place your other hand on the back of hir leg just below the knee. Step back and kneel with the leg on the "hug-the-waist" side to take opponent down. Immediately step one leg over hir, in front of her belly button. Your other knee scoots up behind hir head. Grab your own wrist and wedge your arm circle under opponent's jaw to pry off the headlock. Keep the arm. Move leg around, lie back and armbar.

Side control. Made sure you have the near shoulder well trapped between your thigh and elbow. This is the key to the entire technique, although it's easy to get distracted because it's not the INTERESTING part (LOL). The arm under the opponent's neck- get a collar grip at his cheek (palm *UP*). Your other arm- cross it under your chest (don't make too much room as you do this) and grip opponent's collar behind hir neck (fingers *IN*). This is a good place for the opponent to escape if you have failed to secure that arm. Also- a little Shoulder Of Justice right here can both help immobilize hir as well as distract hir from what you're setting up.

Once you have the grips, loop your first arm (the one with the lapel grip at cheek) over opponent's head so that your arm is now in front of throat. Choke.

We have been getting so many cool gi chokes lately that I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and I'm afraid they are all going to get jumbled up in my head & I'll forget them all. It's that trying-to-drink-from-a-firehose thing again.

We also did some drills of side control to front mount to side control, etc.

Carlos folded the line to set up drill partners, and I got an unfamilar white belt whose efficiency at getting up and setting for the next drill rep betrayed that he must have some MA experience. I'm very quick at that myself, so we got lots of reps in. I was able to give him some pointers about lifting the pelvis for armbarring, and Shoulder Of Justice.