Monday morning

The 70-80%  level of technical excellence can be achieved relatively quickly; however, to attain the remaining 30% or 20% requires a disproportionate amount of time and effort.  Tony Gummerson, "Teaching Martial Arts"

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!  Bryan has been promoted to black belt!!!!!!!!!!
(and I missed it! *sniff*)

Griff black-belted as well.



Thursday FOD: Kiu 2

I spent all morning at the allergy doctor.... only to be told yet again by yet another White Coat in yet another exam room that- despite the fact that we can cure some cancers and give people robotic eyeballs and all sorts of wonders- there is no help to be had for me. We can try allergy shots again- but no, sorry, they have not changed from a quarter century ago. So if they didn't do diddly squat for you then, you can expect the same (non) result now. Once I get re-employed (and re-insured), I might go ahead and get the shots again just for sh!ts and giggles, but the doc was no more optimistic than I. I'm just F'ed.

I know there are people who *do* have cancer, or were born blind, or with no arms or legs, you know, *REAL* medical issues who would rightfully tell me to quit being such a whiny baby about my stuffy nose. But ****DAMN**** this sucks!!!! I wish I could BREATHE!!! This is not fair!!!!!!   WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! (Throws rattle and pureed carrots, bangs furiously on highchair tray)

Side note of humor- when they poked allergens all up and down the insides of my arms- and the two "dust mites" spots instantly swelled up in blisters and developed angry pink coronas the size of golf balls- the nurse came in with a tube of Benedryl and asked "Does it itch?" I had to laugh, although I did restrain myself from replying, "What do you think, Sherlock?!??!"  It was kind of nice to see my cats exonerated, at least (altho getting rid of the cats was never on the table).

Not so humorous: Housemate has been coughing up a lung for a month, and I've been congratulating myself on not catching whatever she has. As soon as that nurse walked in, he was coughing, and I thought, "Uh-oh....." After he had spewed his germs all over the exam room, he left me in there for over an hour to marinate in it. Then of course, he was the one administering the scratch tests. There was a Purell dispenser on the wall, and I did my hands half a dozen times, but tonight my throat feels a little sore- so I think he got me. Now, can I fight off the dreaded rhinovirus or will it tap me out?  Decided to skip class tonight so as to not regift germs unto my teammates, should I indeed be infected.

Friday: Ugh. Sick. That is all.

Saturday: Second verse, same as the first.

Sunday: WIP- I have finally figured out how to get rid of the corpses.

Monday: Lunchtime BJJ at GB Seattle. I got to call Bryan "Professor" and watch him make a passing-a-kidney-stone face.

Also- Pat is now brown, and Jimmy Lee is now brown.

Knee- I was hoping that my knee would have healed fully during my rhinovirus hiatus, but it still winced a bit when I placed that foot on the opposite knee.

Standup: pummeling, clinch, inside reap. Feedback- don't curve body to the side, drop the knee that you're reaping with to the mat.

Armbar from mount drills. I am starting to see that one of the reasons I rarely go for these is that I am paranoid about hitting my classmates in the face with my shin or (worse) my heel. Angela instructed me to be tighter, especially with the foot placement. Being loose and sloppy decreases chaces of an accident, but it increases chances of the opponent escaping.

Keylock from mount drills. I managed to whallop Angela right in the mouth with my elbow, then I got really timid and slowed way down.

Positional sparring from mount- escape versus armbar or keylock. My go-to mount escape is not the greatest on an opponent with short legs. On top- I think S-mount is the key to my top game. I need to find ways to expand my options from here.