5:15 women's Marc
Flow
Rolling at the end of the women's class today I had my first real moments of Flow during BJJ. It was amazing. I knew that was how BJJ is supposed to feel, but today was the first time that all the components of Flow were present at the same time for me; most importantly characterized by the loss of consciousness of self and a distorted sense of time.
For one submission and two positional transitions I had a clear goal and I was relaxed, breathing, and executing. Time didn't seem as frantic and crazy as usual. I saw the opportunity for a move and I saw the path of it in front of me and I started working down that path by the numbers and the movements fell into place. To get the tap I was calmly increasing the pressure; I wasn't stressed or angry or frantic. It was so weird, I just knew where we were going and kept working the path. It was really amazing because it just felt fluid and natural.
Choke
Today we learned the papercutter choke, which I'll just say I find awkward. I did take a lot away from the lesson just from Marc's general attitude about head pressure and body placement (where chest to chest) and Gary showed this from North/South the other day so I can see the versatility of it. I think that I am beginning to notice the difference in style between Kelly and Marc. Of course, I know it's incredibly difficult to tell what a higher belt teacher is doing or not doing or changing in order to help facilitate your learning, but they both feel different.
2009-06-22
2009-06-20
BJJ 6/20 themes, themes, themes
I'm starting to see some movements that are major themes woven throughout the jiu-jitsu and how those major themes come in to play from almost any other position. It's interesting that BJJ is often taught at a "specific technique" level to beginners instead of from a thematic level. I know everyone learns differently and that for many people the reward is in the submission, but I feel differently about it. The reward to me is in understanding the nature of the system and then applying that understanding. In this case Jiu-Jitsu; at work it's the computer, programming languages, etc. The submissions will naturally come later, but they won't be in a vacuum. A good submission, to me, seems to be the culmination of the position, the transition, the setup, the sum of it all. Again I have to say it's a really beautiful art.
So, for today it was conceptually about knee to elbow and the 101 groovy things that knee to elbow will help save you from. In addition, how to use knee to elbow to make the available area also conveniently be your guard. For example, if you get the correct knee up to protect from side control you're also conveniently opening up your guard area. Same concept from a lot of other positions. The other major conceptual movement is the post on one foot and the opposite elbow and the 101 groovy things you can do with that; get away, get back in, etc. I'm also seeing the value of make some space in order to do something with it. Hip out to get your knee in is a good example. My "death grip" seems to be easing up just a little bit so maybe I'll feel more able to make some space when I need it. :)
This is why I love my private classes. I want to see the overarching, interwoven theme and then allow my body to spontaneously apply that theme in a place where it is appropriate. It seems to me a lot like, "teach a (wo)man to fish..."
So, for today it was conceptually about knee to elbow and the 101 groovy things that knee to elbow will help save you from. In addition, how to use knee to elbow to make the available area also conveniently be your guard. For example, if you get the correct knee up to protect from side control you're also conveniently opening up your guard area. Same concept from a lot of other positions. The other major conceptual movement is the post on one foot and the opposite elbow and the 101 groovy things you can do with that; get away, get back in, etc. I'm also seeing the value of make some space in order to do something with it. Hip out to get your knee in is a good example. My "death grip" seems to be easing up just a little bit so maybe I'll feel more able to make some space when I need it. :)
This is why I love my private classes. I want to see the overarching, interwoven theme and then allow my body to spontaneously apply that theme in a place where it is appropriate. It seems to me a lot like, "teach a (wo)man to fish..."
2009-06-17
6/17 BJJ -High Mount Part 2
6/17 built from 6/13 where if the choke wasn't working out or they put their arm up in there to defend it or if it's a Tuesday :) then you'll work this into an armbar setup instead. I found the bodyweight balance aspect pretty sketchy even though I intellectually understand the concept; I'm not pulling it off so well. I'm sure it's just a drilling issue.
2009-06-15
6/15 Lynn's rough notes - will clean up later
6/15
5:15
high mount and a choke
keep your hand pushing down on their head while you are moving up into high mount
Then weasel your hand in cross and get deep in their collar, use the other hand to get your thumb in and grip real tight, sweep that arm over their face for a choke. give them a shake to open up the chin and then pull your elbows back (you'll lean forward and post on your head)
6:00
A choke from NorthSouth. The arm that is underhook sweep around the outside of their shoulder and grab deep in their collar. the other hand reaches in with the thumb and grab a fistful of gi, then rotate away from your thumb - using should weight and sprawling on them. clear their chin and press your elbow down into the ground. One arm is pulling down the backside of their body and the other arm is pressing elbow into floor with bodyweight. I could sort of get this on Tim. I didn't stand a chance of getting it on the big guy...I think that my hands were too close together too far around the back of his neck - so I think if the person is WAY bigger than you, you can actually get too deep.
Tim taught me: (was a super cool, tough, helpful, nice guy)
-snatch your leg back (careful not to hyperextend the knee...I almost did this twice, very scary)
-if their head is on the outside, crossface up and away while pulling your leg back
-if their head is on the inside, push down on the back of their head
-I could tell he was working his open/butterfly guard a lot
-showed me the difference between me being squared up and me having one leg behind when I'm in their butterfly guard
-when they have your sleeves and their feet in your armpits, you can step on one of their arms to get them to let go
-if you're getting into sweep trouble from guard you can jump your legs out and over sort of disengaging. You haven't lost much and you haven't been swept.
7:00 sweeps from half guard
my friend Brian came to class.
One is lock up the leg, underhook the arm and the leg, pull all your limbs upward first and then over. If up and over isn't working (or they post that arm up there) you can also push your knees down to the mat dumping them to the side.
One is where you get a knee in and underhook that same side. You can extend to get their arm in front of you and then post up on your elbow to reach over for a handful of lat and pull them tight to you. scoot your but out and get up on knees, then pull leg out to swing over for mount. If they drive into you here is where you drop your shoulder and sweep them over doing the breakdance thing with your underside leg to use it for momentum and then get it out of the way.
Gary of course showed how you have a lot of other options if any of these things don't work out.
5:15
high mount and a choke
keep your hand pushing down on their head while you are moving up into high mount
Then weasel your hand in cross and get deep in their collar, use the other hand to get your thumb in and grip real tight, sweep that arm over their face for a choke. give them a shake to open up the chin and then pull your elbows back (you'll lean forward and post on your head)
6:00
A choke from NorthSouth. The arm that is underhook sweep around the outside of their shoulder and grab deep in their collar. the other hand reaches in with the thumb and grab a fistful of gi, then rotate away from your thumb - using should weight and sprawling on them. clear their chin and press your elbow down into the ground. One arm is pulling down the backside of their body and the other arm is pressing elbow into floor with bodyweight. I could sort of get this on Tim. I didn't stand a chance of getting it on the big guy...I think that my hands were too close together too far around the back of his neck - so I think if the person is WAY bigger than you, you can actually get too deep.
Tim taught me: (was a super cool, tough, helpful, nice guy)
-snatch your leg back (careful not to hyperextend the knee...I almost did this twice, very scary)
-if their head is on the outside, crossface up and away while pulling your leg back
-if their head is on the inside, push down on the back of their head
-I could tell he was working his open/butterfly guard a lot
-showed me the difference between me being squared up and me having one leg behind when I'm in their butterfly guard
-when they have your sleeves and their feet in your armpits, you can step on one of their arms to get them to let go
-if you're getting into sweep trouble from guard you can jump your legs out and over sort of disengaging. You haven't lost much and you haven't been swept.
7:00 sweeps from half guard
my friend Brian came to class.
One is lock up the leg, underhook the arm and the leg, pull all your limbs upward first and then over. If up and over isn't working (or they post that arm up there) you can also push your knees down to the mat dumping them to the side.
One is where you get a knee in and underhook that same side. You can extend to get their arm in front of you and then post up on your elbow to reach over for a handful of lat and pull them tight to you. scoot your but out and get up on knees, then pull leg out to swing over for mount. If they drive into you here is where you drop your shoulder and sweep them over doing the breakdance thing with your underside leg to use it for momentum and then get it out of the way.
Gary of course showed how you have a lot of other options if any of these things don't work out.
2009-06-14
BJJ 6/13
10:00 Private class w/Kelly
Mount & side control - How to keep them and transition between. Biggest a-ha moment was the baseball slide.
I had been feeling a little *flaily* in terms of lacking a real curriculum in Jits, but we talked about it and now I feel comfortable that my training progression is in good hands. This means that I can relax and just let go of that part (the curriculum), at least for now, because I trust that the person I spend the most time learning from, has an understanding of how I learn and how and when to give me the next piece.
Jits is a perfect, yet difficult sport for a Type A person. A software engineer no less; everything to me is a thinking puzzle, but Jits is a body puzzle...physical chess...and my mind has a hard time turning off (or down). I have to work on (as in, relax) the Nexus between my mind and my body more. I have to allow power, information, and trust to flow both directions. I can learn by listening and seeing, but I have to allow that to pass over to my body for movement. In addition, when I learn something from the physical act of it happening to me I need to bring that up in my conscious mind to assimilate and store it. So, I really need the pathway to be open and clear both ways. I'm working on that and a lot of it is relaxation. I felt some of this happen on Wednesday and a little of it happen on Saturday. It's a very difficult exercise to turn the brain control-center down and to transfer power and decision-making over to the physical realm, but I'm working on it. I believe that over the last 3 months my body has been earning some trust, so take that OCD brain. ;)
I had decided, probably a few weeks ago, that I just want to learn and work on positions and transitions. The women's classes have been positional in nature and my private classes have been about positions, so it's all on the right track. The revelation that I had Wednesday (about speed not being the deciding factor), will help me with this.
I really don't care about who I am better or worse than in class so I'm going to just focus on what we learned that day and trying to apply it. I know this seems like a total "duh" moment, but when I was rolling, even at 50%, if I was trying to win I was compromising the new thing I just learned by using the thing I already know and was more comfortable with.
I'm starting to see a pattern of major phases that I'm passing through and to identify them all is an exercise for another day. For now, I'll say that I'm in a phase where I am conceptually learning position, position, position...and it is good.
And, to borrow from one of my favorite novels, Dune,
"A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it." -The First Law of Mentat, quoted by Paul Atreides to Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
Mount & side control - How to keep them and transition between. Biggest a-ha moment was the baseball slide.
I had been feeling a little *flaily* in terms of lacking a real curriculum in Jits, but we talked about it and now I feel comfortable that my training progression is in good hands. This means that I can relax and just let go of that part (the curriculum), at least for now, because I trust that the person I spend the most time learning from, has an understanding of how I learn and how and when to give me the next piece.
Jits is a perfect, yet difficult sport for a Type A person. A software engineer no less; everything to me is a thinking puzzle, but Jits is a body puzzle...physical chess...and my mind has a hard time turning off (or down). I have to work on (as in, relax) the Nexus between my mind and my body more. I have to allow power, information, and trust to flow both directions. I can learn by listening and seeing, but I have to allow that to pass over to my body for movement. In addition, when I learn something from the physical act of it happening to me I need to bring that up in my conscious mind to assimilate and store it. So, I really need the pathway to be open and clear both ways. I'm working on that and a lot of it is relaxation. I felt some of this happen on Wednesday and a little of it happen on Saturday. It's a very difficult exercise to turn the brain control-center down and to transfer power and decision-making over to the physical realm, but I'm working on it. I believe that over the last 3 months my body has been earning some trust, so take that OCD brain. ;)
I had decided, probably a few weeks ago, that I just want to learn and work on positions and transitions. The women's classes have been positional in nature and my private classes have been about positions, so it's all on the right track. The revelation that I had Wednesday (about speed not being the deciding factor), will help me with this.
I really don't care about who I am better or worse than in class so I'm going to just focus on what we learned that day and trying to apply it. I know this seems like a total "duh" moment, but when I was rolling, even at 50%, if I was trying to win I was compromising the new thing I just learned by using the thing I already know and was more comfortable with.
I'm starting to see a pattern of major phases that I'm passing through and to identify them all is an exercise for another day. For now, I'll say that I'm in a phase where I am conceptually learning position, position, position...and it is good.
And, to borrow from one of my favorite novels, Dune,
"A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it." -The First Law of Mentat, quoted by Paul Atreides to Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
2009-06-10
BJJ 6/10 -You don't have to sneak it on them
5:15 Women/Teens Kelly
Today we covered some sweeps that I've seen before, but I could never get to work for me.
2 things came clear today:
#1 - Kelly told us a slightly different placement of one limb which worked way better for me
#2 - I realized today that if you have the techniques correct, it is not required that you surprise the opponent. This is a huge, huge lesson for me because I've been thinking, "Well, they know exactly what I'm going to do so I've got to try to slip it on them quick." and of course that wasn't working out very well. So, today I said, "I know that they know this is exactly what I'm going to do, but I'm so frustrated with these sweeps that I'm going to just go ahead and drill them anyway....over and over". Surprisingly, the sweeps worked for me like 3 out of 5 times (as opposed to 0 out of 5 times like usual).
Now when I think about this for a minute it makes total sense. Often I tell Kelly, "I knew where you were going with that, but I didn't know what to do about it.". So, I feel like that is a major milestone in my personal Jits process. :)
Today we covered some sweeps that I've seen before, but I could never get to work for me.
2 things came clear today:
#1 - Kelly told us a slightly different placement of one limb which worked way better for me
#2 - I realized today that if you have the techniques correct, it is not required that you surprise the opponent. This is a huge, huge lesson for me because I've been thinking, "Well, they know exactly what I'm going to do so I've got to try to slip it on them quick." and of course that wasn't working out very well. So, today I said, "I know that they know this is exactly what I'm going to do, but I'm so frustrated with these sweeps that I'm going to just go ahead and drill them anyway....over and over". Surprisingly, the sweeps worked for me like 3 out of 5 times (as opposed to 0 out of 5 times like usual).
Now when I think about this for a minute it makes total sense. Often I tell Kelly, "I knew where you were going with that, but I didn't know what to do about it.". So, I feel like that is a major milestone in my personal Jits process. :)
2009-06-09
BJJ: Time Management
You know what; I'm pretty sure I can just say "Time Management" and anybody who reads this blog will know exactly what I mean.
But just to include a few of my own time management jewels:
-Balancing the significant other with the *significant hobby* a.k.a "I do love you, but I love Jits too" a.k.a "Oooh, that's right during the only time this week I can roll with fill-in-the-blank-fave-rolling-partner. Can I catch up with you after?"
This particular time management task totally blows!!!
-Finding new and inventive ways to get out of work in time to catch fill-in-the-blank class without looking like a slacker
-"Damn, this isn't all the way dry. Screw it, I'm gonna sweat anyway, right?"
-"Which day was supposed to be my rest day?"
Please, feel free to chime in your personal faves. ;)
But just to include a few of my own time management jewels:
-Balancing the significant other with the *significant hobby* a.k.a "I do love you, but I love Jits too" a.k.a "Oooh, that's right during the only time this week I can roll with fill-in-the-blank-fave-rolling-partner. Can I catch up with you after?"
This particular time management task totally blows!!!
-Finding new and inventive ways to get out of work in time to catch fill-in-the-blank class without looking like a slacker
-"Damn, this isn't all the way dry. Screw it, I'm gonna sweat anyway, right?"
-"Which day was supposed to be my rest day?"
Please, feel free to chime in your personal faves. ;)
2009-06-05
BJJ ear protection - looking for your reviews, experiences
Okay, so today I noticed that I have the slightest little (new) bump on my ear (the ear that I favor mashing into my opponent when I'm afraid of them doing *something* to me if I raise my head). So, any new bumps, and the dreaded cauliflower ear is not an option for me. I'll be picking up some headgear this weekend. Maybe it's a girl thing, but I don't think it's cool at all.
I've got a pretty small head (hat size 6.75) so I thought I'd ask for some comments about brands and fit from you guys. I think the Adidas ones look cool with their graphite look, but ultimately I need to get what fits best and does the job. So, if you have experience with what brands runs large or small and/or falls apart quickly, etc, etc, please share.
I love having a space to get some ideas/answers from fellow BJJ sufferers, I mean enthusiasts.
;)
I've got a pretty small head (hat size 6.75) so I thought I'd ask for some comments about brands and fit from you guys. I think the Adidas ones look cool with their graphite look, but ultimately I need to get what fits best and does the job. So, if you have experience with what brands runs large or small and/or falls apart quickly, etc, etc, please share.
I love having a space to get some ideas/answers from fellow BJJ sufferers, I mean enthusiasts.
;)
2009-06-04
BJJ 6/4 in Truckee at Kelly/Marc's school
I had to work late Wednesday so I missed the 5:15 at Gary's school. Thursday 6/4 I got out of work early enough to drive up to Truckee to catch the 6:00 women's class and stay for the 7:00. It was great training because it was with girls that are better than me and with guys that I think are really great. A handful of the Reno guys are just not fun or helpful to roll with; too much ego. The Truckee guys that I have met have had a better attitude about BJJ in general. So, it was a really great class.
The 45 minutes each way totally blows though so I may not be going up there as often as I had planned. I'll just play it by ear on a day by day basis. Work has been demanding lately because of some deadlines so I don't know whether I can hit jits or not until the last minute.
The other thing that holds up my *Ultimate Training Plan* ;) is that my CrossFit gym and my BJJ gym are not merging just yet. They were supposed to merge on 6/1, but some last minute negotiating problems came up with the landlord. I've been looking forward to having everything under one roof. Then I'll do the women's class at 5:15 and the CrossFit at 6:00 and then decide whether to roll after CrossFit.
The 45 minutes each way totally blows though so I may not be going up there as often as I had planned. I'll just play it by ear on a day by day basis. Work has been demanding lately because of some deadlines so I don't know whether I can hit jits or not until the last minute.
The other thing that holds up my *Ultimate Training Plan* ;) is that my CrossFit gym and my BJJ gym are not merging just yet. They were supposed to merge on 6/1, but some last minute negotiating problems came up with the landlord. I've been looking forward to having everything under one roof. Then I'll do the women's class at 5:15 and the CrossFit at 6:00 and then decide whether to roll after CrossFit.
2009-06-02
You know Jits has you when.....
-when the skin on your feet is contantly missing in 1-4 strategic places
-when you post on an elbow and foot to roll over in bed...in your sleep
-when you use a swimming underhook type motion to pull your arm under the covers
-when you swim out of bed in the morning (leading with the hand you throw your arm forward while you sit up)
-when you post on an elbow and foot to roll over in bed...in your sleep
-when you use a swimming underhook type motion to pull your arm under the covers
-when you swim out of bed in the morning (leading with the hand you throw your arm forward while you sit up)
2009-05-30
5/30 BJJ - First day I ever wore a gi or “Intro to getting choked with your own clothes”
10:00am private Kelly –
Gi - First off, to find someone who teaches in a way that really clicks for you is a priceless asset. I experience too many “a-ha” moments to mention them all. I will say that although it’s going to be a very hard road I’m going to go ahead and embrace the Gi training. Although it was an utter train-wreck for me today; I can see the beauty on the other side. Because today was my first Gi day we talked a little about grips and she showed me two chokes. I have to say it is real nice having all these cool handles conveniently placed all over the opponent; but getting handled in my Gi was a real eye-opener. The first thing that became glaringly obvious to me is that I am NOT in tune with it (my gi) at all. I would find that I couldn’t, for example, move my knee and I would basically mentally write it off and try something different. It’s not my first thought to make the connection that clearly they have a hold of my Gi at the knee and are controlling my knee with it and I should probably stop that. I’m not making that connection at all. I’m not feeling through the Gi, but I’m sure that has to get better. Right now it feels like all this extra stuff between me and the opponent. Gi: 2, Lynn: 0
Hips - A few classes ago Kelly told me some conceptual things about hip movement and I’ve noticed that I am starting to apply it better (particularly when I’m in trouble) and that it’s really helping me out a lot, but today I learned a hip movement in side control that had never occurred to me. The concept of using the hips to clear the arm or the knee in side control wasn’t going to occur to me naturally. I was going to just keep driving and driving to no avail. Having a private class is the.coolest.thing.ever.
Don’t quit - I also need to not give up on something when it doesn’t work the first time or when the outcome is not what I expected. A prime example of this was when she would be passing my guard and the way I would move my hips out would allow her to press her hip down next to me and then I’d think, “Well, that didn’t work like I planned” and sort of blank out. After I did this a few times we addressed it with “keep moving the hips out”. In essence, I would try once and then quit. Same with sweeps, shrimps, etc. Don’t give up on it.
Brain disconnect - Everything from here on out was a total disconnect between my conscious brain and my physical body. Many examples of “I know this, but I did this instead”.
Death Grip - I was seeming to do better with another major concept about keeping elbows and knees in until we noticed that all session I kept getting a grip on her collar or over her shoulder and behind her neck and then just hanging on to that so of course she’d show me the error of my ways by getting that arm isolated. In fact, she did the exact same thing that ended in my arm bar twice in a row. I knew exactly what she was going to do and I couldn’t override the *death grip* command that was sent to my hand and she got my arm again. I noticed that I feel less vulnerable with my arm over her shoulder than under her shoulder. I thought I had learned the value of underhooks in my match and then today I completely disregarded them over and over and over and over. And, of course, Kelly was helpful enough to keep demonstrating my death grip by pushing my head away and letting my own refusal to let go add to my head control stress. She is quite good at the non-verbal lessons.
I’ll need to write “underhooks” on the backs of my thumbs so I’ll see it every time I wrap my arm around the back of their neck and just hang out there. It’s weird to identify something that my brain just keeps ignoring. I can literally say, “Okay, don’t do that” and then 8 seconds later I’ll do exactly that. So, my mantra last week was “hips, hips, hips”. I’m thinking this next week will be “underhooks, underhooks, underhooks” .
Make space – Related to my lack of letting go with my grip in order to try to get an underhook is my seemingly natural instinct to close the space no matter what. I intellectually know that BJJ is about closing space when you need to and also about making space when you need to. However, physically I apparently am only comfortable closing the space. I think the death grip around the back of their neck is related to this and so is my inability to get my knee in there when I want to. I have plenty of room to go ahead and make more room (sliding my hips back or away) in order to get my knee in, but I would just stay so tightly engaged that I wouldn’t allow myself the room. In essence, I will suffer (Kelly proved this over and over today) to stay tightly engaged even when making space would be very good for me. I won’t “make space”. Seriously gotta get over that.
Knee - The other thing I’d like to see happen more naturally is getting the knee in there when they want to pull me into guard. During tit-for-tat today I overcommitted forward and I could feel that I was in a place where her next move was going to be to pull me into her guard and I couldn’t think of what to do about it….so simple, get that knee up. It’s bizarre the things that my brain decides to ignore or just refuse to commit to long term memory.
I know things will occur to me over the next few days that I can't recall so I'll add them later.2009-05-28
BJJ More technical, less strength/weight
So, I'm kind of in a place where I weigh vastly more than the other 4 women that I have a chance to roll with. For example, I weigh ~168 right now and I'm sure the heaviest female I roll with is probably <140. I don't want my technical game to suffer because I can get away with some pure strength/weight things...so I'm thinking I've really gotta just start rolling with the guys. It's tough though since it's been no-gi for the last few months at my school I don't know which guys are which belt (kinda wanna roll with more experienced, less-flaily, guys so neither of us get hurt) and of course they all outweigh me, but I've just gotta put the time in. I just wanted to understand my positional goals and a few submission defenses before rolling with the guys regularly since I'm pretty sure (and many women's blogs I've read pretty much second this) that I'll spend a lot of time just incrementally working my positional transition with the guys while defending submissions off. And, of course, that is part of the process. :)
So, in the near future my goal is to become more technical and less strength-based by #1-learning and training with the gi (start on Saturday 5/30) and #2-rolling with the guys.
I also just have to lose more weight; intelligently - lose fat. Back to CrossFit for me. My grand plan is to go back on 6/10 and a really good friend of mine will be coming to her first CrossFit that night too so we'll be going together.
So, in the near future my goal is to become more technical and less strength-based by #1-learning and training with the gi (start on Saturday 5/30) and #2-rolling with the guys.
I also just have to lose more weight; intelligently - lose fat. Back to CrossFit for me. My grand plan is to go back on 6/10 and a really good friend of mine will be coming to her first CrossFit that night too so we'll be going together.
2009-05-27
Muay Thai 5/27
7:00am Muay Thai (private) Casey BBCF
This morning was my third class with Casey and I have to say that when you're a total beginner things seems to get better very quickly. Today, many things felt far more natural than they did last class. Of course, some things were still exceedingly akward (teeps).
Always working on:
1. Breathing
2. Standing tall (Don't sink down and down and down. This doesn't mean to put my head up like a target, it really means keep good posture, don't shrink down)
3. March on toes, don't do the tank (Don't sink down real heavy and start flat footing around like an army tank)
4. Eyes (peripheral vision)
5. Keep the torso engaged (part of standing tall...not leaning backwards)
The warmup kicking is starting to feel better. The hips are loosening up for a more natural swing around. With the kicks, I'm working on:
1. that downward arc for the leg kick (still kicking too high)
2. stuff with the hand
3. heavy leg, not snapping
4. quick reset
5. on the toe at the end (the follow-through so to speak)
Then we did some drills with the jab, cross, hook, kicks, teeps. All of this is starting to feel better.I'm starting to feel the rhythm of it all and it's really cool. My hook is still a little bizarre, but I'm starting to get the arc down. With my kicks and teeps I need to keep that core engaged to keep that torso in there so that I'm not leaning back off balance (especially with the teeps). This is where the "stand tall" thing really comes into play. If I am standing tall then usually the kick or teep starts in the right place and it has nice power because I'm really engaged with it. If I start off all hunched up or backed off then I either have no power and/or have to reach akwardly.
During the drilling today he started giving me little taps between my drills to make sure I was defending, keep my gloves up, getting them back quickly, etc. I'll throw some punches and he would give me a hook to make sure I was back in defense or 'keeping me honest' so to speak. When he starts taking these little shots back at me he barely taps me, but in my mind I want to enter defense mode (which is heavy and low like a tank, quits moving and covers everything). So, when he's tapping me back I have to do my little mantra, "stand in it, march in it, keep tall, keep defending, don't scrunch, don't back away". I'm trying to see with my peripheral vision the physical ques that are precursors to where these strikes are coming from, etc. Today I noticed what his chest looks like when he opens his left shoulder for a left hook. It was my first "a-ha" moment; granted on probably the most telegraphed strike and in slow motion, but it was still cool.
I know this is going to sound funny because I've been doing BJJ, but the close Muay Thai distance feels way too close to me. It feels to me like if you're that close to somebody you may as well be grappling. Most of the Muay Thai is in an uncomfortably close zone that just feels akward to me. Also working on that (staying jab close, staying engaged, etc).
I think he's a great teacher because I notice that he is progressing me a little bit at a time, yes, even over 3 lessons. I noticed that today he started giving me the pad locations and not calling out the numbers so much and I was noticing that a pad in that location should be a jab, there means a cross, there means a hook, etc. Seems like a small thing, but it was nice to see that my body/vision/rhythm has potential to all come together naturally. I noticed this again when he taught me some blocks. I'm not staring down his gloves and I can still see other stuff. I'm trying really hard to work on this. I need to develop that peripheral awareness. I don't have the accuracy so I especially end up kicking him a lot. The teeps seem ridiculously off balance and off target right now. I'm aiming dead center, but I could hit anywhere in a 1.5 foot radius. I keep telling him he'll need to wear a cup for my training. ;)
He gave me a jab block, a cross block, a hook block, and an over the top right cross block. What they all have in common is one hand is stuffing in their shoulder or face and the other hand is protecting your head (usually with the palm facing your head). BOTH hands are open. The reason for the left hand open has to do with naturally bringing your shoulder up to protect. The right hand is open because it leaves less space. So, front, side, and then opposite side with the blocking (opposite side is open palm facing out). We discussed slipping vs blocking and I'll just say we're in agreement and I get it.(Risk vs Reward)
So, it was a great cardio workout first thing in the morning; loosened up my hips and back for the day and I got to hit stuff. Who doesn't like to hit stuff?
This morning was my third class with Casey and I have to say that when you're a total beginner things seems to get better very quickly. Today, many things felt far more natural than they did last class. Of course, some things were still exceedingly akward (teeps).
Always working on:
1. Breathing
2. Standing tall (Don't sink down and down and down. This doesn't mean to put my head up like a target, it really means keep good posture, don't shrink down)
3. March on toes, don't do the tank (Don't sink down real heavy and start flat footing around like an army tank)
4. Eyes (peripheral vision)
5. Keep the torso engaged (part of standing tall...not leaning backwards)
The warmup kicking is starting to feel better. The hips are loosening up for a more natural swing around. With the kicks, I'm working on:
1. that downward arc for the leg kick (still kicking too high)
2. stuff with the hand
3. heavy leg, not snapping
4. quick reset
5. on the toe at the end (the follow-through so to speak)
Then we did some drills with the jab, cross, hook, kicks, teeps. All of this is starting to feel better.I'm starting to feel the rhythm of it all and it's really cool. My hook is still a little bizarre, but I'm starting to get the arc down. With my kicks and teeps I need to keep that core engaged to keep that torso in there so that I'm not leaning back off balance (especially with the teeps). This is where the "stand tall" thing really comes into play. If I am standing tall then usually the kick or teep starts in the right place and it has nice power because I'm really engaged with it. If I start off all hunched up or backed off then I either have no power and/or have to reach akwardly.
During the drilling today he started giving me little taps between my drills to make sure I was defending, keep my gloves up, getting them back quickly, etc. I'll throw some punches and he would give me a hook to make sure I was back in defense or 'keeping me honest' so to speak. When he starts taking these little shots back at me he barely taps me, but in my mind I want to enter defense mode (which is heavy and low like a tank, quits moving and covers everything). So, when he's tapping me back I have to do my little mantra, "stand in it, march in it, keep tall, keep defending, don't scrunch, don't back away". I'm trying to see with my peripheral vision the physical ques that are precursors to where these strikes are coming from, etc. Today I noticed what his chest looks like when he opens his left shoulder for a left hook. It was my first "a-ha" moment; granted on probably the most telegraphed strike and in slow motion, but it was still cool.
I know this is going to sound funny because I've been doing BJJ, but the close Muay Thai distance feels way too close to me. It feels to me like if you're that close to somebody you may as well be grappling. Most of the Muay Thai is in an uncomfortably close zone that just feels akward to me. Also working on that (staying jab close, staying engaged, etc).
I think he's a great teacher because I notice that he is progressing me a little bit at a time, yes, even over 3 lessons. I noticed that today he started giving me the pad locations and not calling out the numbers so much and I was noticing that a pad in that location should be a jab, there means a cross, there means a hook, etc. Seems like a small thing, but it was nice to see that my body/vision/rhythm has potential to all come together naturally. I noticed this again when he taught me some blocks. I'm not staring down his gloves and I can still see other stuff. I'm trying really hard to work on this. I need to develop that peripheral awareness. I don't have the accuracy so I especially end up kicking him a lot. The teeps seem ridiculously off balance and off target right now. I'm aiming dead center, but I could hit anywhere in a 1.5 foot radius. I keep telling him he'll need to wear a cup for my training. ;)
He gave me a jab block, a cross block, a hook block, and an over the top right cross block. What they all have in common is one hand is stuffing in their shoulder or face and the other hand is protecting your head (usually with the palm facing your head). BOTH hands are open. The reason for the left hand open has to do with naturally bringing your shoulder up to protect. The right hand is open because it leaves less space. So, front, side, and then opposite side with the blocking (opposite side is open palm facing out). We discussed slipping vs blocking and I'll just say we're in agreement and I get it.(Risk vs Reward)
So, it was a great cardio workout first thing in the morning; loosened up my hips and back for the day and I got to hit stuff. Who doesn't like to hit stuff?
2009-05-24
Running totally blows
I'm not sure what more is to be said about that except it totally blows. This is me getting pumped up to go run a measly 2 miles today. :) I literally haven't run outside since...oh, probably last spring a few times. I've got my iPod shuffle that I love and I'm going to a new place to run; besides that I don't know how to make it any less dreadful.
I'm running to increase my cardio for my BJJ and to lose weight; I'll just keep that in mind. BJJ and weight, BJJ and weight. ;) I'm doing this for my goals!!!! Go Lynn!!!
I'm running to increase my cardio for my BJJ and to lose weight; I'll just keep that in mind. BJJ and weight, BJJ and weight. ;) I'm doing this for my goals!!!! Go Lynn!!!
2009-05-22
Mentally having a hard time prepping for Gi training
I've figured out that I'm not really looking forward to training with the Gi since I've never worn one. I know the positives like it will cause me to become more technical, it offers more techniques like chokes, more points to grab on, etc, but I'm still just not real excited about it. It seems like everyone gets used to it and some others at the gym even relish it, but why?
I got a Gi as part of my school's promotional first month and so far all I've done is put it on, feel pretty certain that it was large enough to hold up to the lowest dryer setting, and then, of course, proceed to shrink the legs about 4" above my ankles. So I've messed up already: Gi: 1, Lynn: 0.
So, now in addition to my "I feel ridiculous in this because any one of you could choke me to death in it in just one moment...wait, I think my Gi is choking me to death all by itself... and I have no idea what I am doing and it's hot and feels constrictive", I also have the "I feel ridiculous in my highwater Gi."
Any words of advice on how to rock my too short Gi? I mean, seriously, I'll have to look at the internet just how to tie the pant strings and then the belt (looks like a square knot).
I just feel ridiculous, but I'm goin' for it.
I guess, if nothing else, I look forward to one day in the far, far future where they put me with the obnoxious, know-it-all-new-kid who thinks Gi's are stupid and says so, and I execute a nice choke with my sleeves, or my pants, or the Gi-Force, or whatever. So, say a little Gi prayer for me. ;)
So, why do you like yours?
I got a Gi as part of my school's promotional first month and so far all I've done is put it on, feel pretty certain that it was large enough to hold up to the lowest dryer setting, and then, of course, proceed to shrink the legs about 4" above my ankles. So I've messed up already: Gi: 1, Lynn: 0.
So, now in addition to my "I feel ridiculous in this because any one of you could choke me to death in it in just one moment...wait, I think my Gi is choking me to death all by itself... and I have no idea what I am doing and it's hot and feels constrictive", I also have the "I feel ridiculous in my highwater Gi."
Any words of advice on how to rock my too short Gi? I mean, seriously, I'll have to look at the internet just how to tie the pant strings and then the belt (looks like a square knot).
I just feel ridiculous, but I'm goin' for it.
I guess, if nothing else, I look forward to one day in the far, far future where they put me with the obnoxious, know-it-all-new-kid who thinks Gi's are stupid and says so, and I execute a nice choke with my sleeves, or my pants, or the Gi-Force, or whatever. So, say a little Gi prayer for me. ;)
So, why do you like yours?
BJJ 5/20 -Arm Bar
5:15 Women's Kelly GG
Today was the armbar from mount
The parts that I got from it were:
-get the shoulder off the ground
-get your knee in there -up high
-s mount
-keep it all tight
-sit on them and lean forward just a bit (post with hand if need be) to swing other foot around
-sit back hugging the arm to chest (not using your arms to pull it to you, using your body to take it with you)
*Now, I find it extremely akward. I'll leave it at that, for now. ;)
Today was the armbar from mount
The parts that I got from it were:
-get the shoulder off the ground
-get your knee in there -up high
-s mount
-keep it all tight
-sit on them and lean forward just a bit (post with hand if need be) to swing other foot around
-sit back hugging the arm to chest (not using your arms to pull it to you, using your body to take it with you)
*Now, I find it extremely akward. I'll leave it at that, for now. ;)
2009-05-17
BJJ 5/16 Tournament - my first match (also a Facebook note)
I met so many great people including a lot of the girls that train in Truckee (Mary thank you so much for working on my back). I really need to make a point to get up there once or twice a month. It's great to meet other people that just enjoy the Jiu-Jitsu for the sake of BJJ. Mr. Gracie (Charles) was there, but I was just a little too nervous to meet him. In addition, I'm sure he is a busy man with a lot of people he needed to talk to. Watching the matches was great fun. Some of them look so calm (Bobby?) and make it look effortless; that is where the BJJ is - in the calm, technique realm. The kids were more serious than I thought. When I see their classes they seem hard to settle down, but their matches were focused. They were like little highly trained grappling machines. That was fun to watch.
As for my match, I need to start out with the fact that I outweighed my opponent by probably 30 lbs. I won my match at about 4 minutes with a guillotine, but the weight is really significant, so, many props to her. It makes me nervous about my real weight class. It was a good learning experience in terms of actually seeing how I would feel and act and react as well as identify my weak points in order to make sure to train.
Some of my weaknesses identified during the match:
1. No good takedowns
2. very vulnerable to sweeps.
Takedowns - I didn't feel good about the single leg takedown that I learned. It felt really inconsistent and since I wasn't feeling it I tried something different that I learned the day before. Of course when that didn't work I'm not really sure what happened except that I think I had to sprawl on her. I'm not even sure what happened from there, but I do know that she swept me a few times and she tried to sweep me a few times. At one point I had mount and at one point I had side control. There was a half guard time where I was trying really hard to get my leg out; I was pushing down with my other foot and I was pulling on that leg but it was a no go. I lost confidence in that move. Clearly I'll need to ask Kelly about the particulars of that move.
Some things I was happy about:
I managed to stay pretty calm.
Some things came naturally without having to think about it.
I didn't get tired.
Submission - When I got side control I was trying to work to a Kimura, frankly, because it was the only thing I could think of. She was sweaty and slipped right out of my hand a few times before I got hold. I had just gotten my right and was just about to throw my leg over her head (another Rener Gracie video) when she rolled up into me which wasn't my plan but I just kept working the Kimura. The Kimura wasn't working (she was flexible and I don't think I had guard) but she was now close to my guard and I was close to her head so I grabbed her neck and pulled my leg through for guard. I did try to get the guillotine, but my arm wasn't deep enough. I really needed to reposition my hands and I remembered that Rener Gracie video about posting on the elbow and the opposite foot to readjust so I did. I was really scared to let my guard go, but I knew I would never get the guillotine without it and I thought she was ahead on points because of the sweeps so I adjusted. After I adjusted I got my guard back and I did everything I know about the guillotine and she tapped. I have to say I was probably too rough with it, but after my unsuccessful first Kimura try and my unsuccessful first guillotine try, I didn't want to take any chances. I was feeling pretty desperate and pretty doubtful that it would work so I pulled out of desperation.
Coaching - I heard Kelly tell me once to get underhooks which was brilliant and made things alot better. I never think of them because I didn't personally understand the total value of having those underhooks. Right after Kelly said that I immediately did it and I felt way, way better instantly. The other time I heard Kelly she was saying to take her back. I think I had sorta gotten out to the side and when Kelly said take the back I remembered the drill we did with ear on hip and from your butt up onto your knee. I tried it, but it didn't work out (pretty sure she turned into me), but at least I remembered it. All told, it was incredibly helpful that Kelly coached me. She's brilliant and I think she says just enough. I think she waited until she knew that I didn't know what to do before she would say something.
Once, I believe while we were in half guard I felt her arm on my head like she was trying to get it around for a guillotine and I pressed into her harder to keep that arm from coming through, but preventing that consumed my thought process. It was the closest that I came to panicking. I need to work more defenses and escapes in order to feel less panic at the thought of getting caught up in something. I need to exercise the "relax and escape" part of my brain. Currently, I think I will not remain calm. Good to know.
Prep - For this tournament I made a few goals which were:
1. Don't Freak Out (Keep breathing, keep thinking)
2. Keep working the whole time (5 minutes)
3. Work for better position
I'm happy to say that I feel like I achieved those goals. I can't believe how fast the time went. The 4 minute mark felt like 90 seconds. Crazy. I can see now how tournaments are about the clock and points, etc. 5 minutes sounded like a ridiculously long time to me when I was worried about tiring out. Now it seems about 5 minutes too short. Because BJJ is really physical chess, it seems odd that there is a time constraint. I mean, understandable for tournaments, but odd. In chess you keep working until checkmate; it's a long game. In BJJ I can see how you could give up points working toward your end game the same way you might sacrifice your pawns or a bishop. Odd that it is timed.
I relaxed and watched Rener Gracie videos the night before. I packed my bag and laid out my clothes and I went to bed about 10. In the morning I had a protein shake, some oatmeal, and a caffeine shot. I left pretty early and got there around 9am. Everyone was way more laid back and relaxed than I expected at any sort of competition. I'm glad I went and I'm glad to have the nerves of the first one over with.
From here, I keep up with the BJJ techniques and I'll be going back to CrossFit to improve strength and endurance. I can't get any slow roll in my life right now and that is a pretty serious concern. I keep going to classes where we learn a technique and then we try it. I would really like someone who just wants to roll 50% for an hour. The one time I got to roll with Kelly I learned about 9 things in 3 minutes where I thought, "I can feel her going over there" or "She's giving me a second to figure out what to do here" or "Where do I go from here?". It's all experiential and I'm not getting the experience time. Gotta figure this out.
As for my match, I need to start out with the fact that I outweighed my opponent by probably 30 lbs. I won my match at about 4 minutes with a guillotine, but the weight is really significant, so, many props to her. It makes me nervous about my real weight class. It was a good learning experience in terms of actually seeing how I would feel and act and react as well as identify my weak points in order to make sure to train.
Some of my weaknesses identified during the match:
1. No good takedowns
2. very vulnerable to sweeps.
Takedowns - I didn't feel good about the single leg takedown that I learned. It felt really inconsistent and since I wasn't feeling it I tried something different that I learned the day before. Of course when that didn't work I'm not really sure what happened except that I think I had to sprawl on her. I'm not even sure what happened from there, but I do know that she swept me a few times and she tried to sweep me a few times. At one point I had mount and at one point I had side control. There was a half guard time where I was trying really hard to get my leg out; I was pushing down with my other foot and I was pulling on that leg but it was a no go. I lost confidence in that move. Clearly I'll need to ask Kelly about the particulars of that move.
Some things I was happy about:
I managed to stay pretty calm.
Some things came naturally without having to think about it.
I didn't get tired.
Submission - When I got side control I was trying to work to a Kimura, frankly, because it was the only thing I could think of. She was sweaty and slipped right out of my hand a few times before I got hold. I had just gotten my right and was just about to throw my leg over her head (another Rener Gracie video) when she rolled up into me which wasn't my plan but I just kept working the Kimura. The Kimura wasn't working (she was flexible and I don't think I had guard) but she was now close to my guard and I was close to her head so I grabbed her neck and pulled my leg through for guard. I did try to get the guillotine, but my arm wasn't deep enough. I really needed to reposition my hands and I remembered that Rener Gracie video about posting on the elbow and the opposite foot to readjust so I did. I was really scared to let my guard go, but I knew I would never get the guillotine without it and I thought she was ahead on points because of the sweeps so I adjusted. After I adjusted I got my guard back and I did everything I know about the guillotine and she tapped. I have to say I was probably too rough with it, but after my unsuccessful first Kimura try and my unsuccessful first guillotine try, I didn't want to take any chances. I was feeling pretty desperate and pretty doubtful that it would work so I pulled out of desperation.
Coaching - I heard Kelly tell me once to get underhooks which was brilliant and made things alot better. I never think of them because I didn't personally understand the total value of having those underhooks. Right after Kelly said that I immediately did it and I felt way, way better instantly. The other time I heard Kelly she was saying to take her back. I think I had sorta gotten out to the side and when Kelly said take the back I remembered the drill we did with ear on hip and from your butt up onto your knee. I tried it, but it didn't work out (pretty sure she turned into me), but at least I remembered it. All told, it was incredibly helpful that Kelly coached me. She's brilliant and I think she says just enough. I think she waited until she knew that I didn't know what to do before she would say something.
Once, I believe while we were in half guard I felt her arm on my head like she was trying to get it around for a guillotine and I pressed into her harder to keep that arm from coming through, but preventing that consumed my thought process. It was the closest that I came to panicking. I need to work more defenses and escapes in order to feel less panic at the thought of getting caught up in something. I need to exercise the "relax and escape" part of my brain. Currently, I think I will not remain calm. Good to know.
Prep - For this tournament I made a few goals which were:
1. Don't Freak Out (Keep breathing, keep thinking)
2. Keep working the whole time (5 minutes)
3. Work for better position
I'm happy to say that I feel like I achieved those goals. I can't believe how fast the time went. The 4 minute mark felt like 90 seconds. Crazy. I can see now how tournaments are about the clock and points, etc. 5 minutes sounded like a ridiculously long time to me when I was worried about tiring out. Now it seems about 5 minutes too short. Because BJJ is really physical chess, it seems odd that there is a time constraint. I mean, understandable for tournaments, but odd. In chess you keep working until checkmate; it's a long game. In BJJ I can see how you could give up points working toward your end game the same way you might sacrifice your pawns or a bishop. Odd that it is timed.
I relaxed and watched Rener Gracie videos the night before. I packed my bag and laid out my clothes and I went to bed about 10. In the morning I had a protein shake, some oatmeal, and a caffeine shot. I left pretty early and got there around 9am. Everyone was way more laid back and relaxed than I expected at any sort of competition. I'm glad I went and I'm glad to have the nerves of the first one over with.
From here, I keep up with the BJJ techniques and I'll be going back to CrossFit to improve strength and endurance. I can't get any slow roll in my life right now and that is a pretty serious concern. I keep going to classes where we learn a technique and then we try it. I would really like someone who just wants to roll 50% for an hour. The one time I got to roll with Kelly I learned about 9 things in 3 minutes where I thought, "I can feel her going over there" or "She's giving me a second to figure out what to do here" or "Where do I go from here?". It's all experiential and I'm not getting the experience time. Gotta figure this out.
2009-05-13
BJJ 5/13
5:15 Women's Kelly
-Single leg takedown 1.commit 2.head goes inside, not outside
6:45 Private Kelly
So much stuff in so little time.
-Single leg takedown
Step outside their leg. Think slap, knees, drive
-Guard escape
More posture. don't need to lean over to one side to get the knee in their tailbone, you only need to raise up just maybe 2" and you have room.
My knee protects me. Put the knee in there as soon as possible.
-americana
Use your bodyweight to push their arm down and pin the wrist. Rener's video shows him underhooking the opposite leg with his leg so he can bring the knee on the same side up real high to defend the sweep
defense:I don't know what it's called, but you push your hips up very hard so they'll plant their hands, then you grab their elbow and bring their arm in tight to your chest, hook their foot, and here is the part that I need to drill over and over...Your hips will do the same movement up,up,up but since you turn your head and think about putting your nose on the matt it will drive them the correct direction. You don't have to try to do it with your hips, the turning of the head and trying to touch your nose to the matt does it naturally.
-in guard follow their hips. posture. If you get in trouble, get tight down to them to pull everything back in.
In general when you want to make something happen you're usually making hips perpendicular (takedown, sweeps, arm bar, etc).
-Single leg takedown 1.commit 2.head goes inside, not outside
6:45 Private Kelly
So much stuff in so little time.
-Single leg takedown
Step outside their leg. Think slap, knees, drive
-Guard escape
More posture. don't need to lean over to one side to get the knee in their tailbone, you only need to raise up just maybe 2" and you have room.
My knee protects me. Put the knee in there as soon as possible.
-americana
Use your bodyweight to push their arm down and pin the wrist. Rener's video shows him underhooking the opposite leg with his leg so he can bring the knee on the same side up real high to defend the sweep
defense:I don't know what it's called, but you push your hips up very hard so they'll plant their hands, then you grab their elbow and bring their arm in tight to your chest, hook their foot, and here is the part that I need to drill over and over...Your hips will do the same movement up,up,up but since you turn your head and think about putting your nose on the matt it will drive them the correct direction. You don't have to try to do it with your hips, the turning of the head and trying to touch your nose to the matt does it naturally.
-in guard follow their hips. posture. If you get in trouble, get tight down to them to pull everything back in.
In general when you want to make something happen you're usually making hips perpendicular (takedown, sweeps, arm bar, etc).
2009-05-12
Muay Thai 5/12
7:30 Casey BBCF
Started out warming up with kicks. Eyes to chest, get the rotation, stuff with the hand. Don't pop with the kick, think heavy leg, heavy kick
Stance - Don't start doing the tank, keep tall and march.
Hook - still feels very weird, big arc.
Added in teep today - knee up first, then out
Started out warming up with kicks. Eyes to chest, get the rotation, stuff with the hand. Don't pop with the kick, think heavy leg, heavy kick
Stance - Don't start doing the tank, keep tall and march.
Hook - still feels very weird, big arc.
Added in teep today - knee up first, then out
BJJ 5/11
5:15 Women's Marc
Hilary brought 2 friends today so we had enough girls to rotate through.
-Scissor sweep
Don't forget to get their weight on you. If they sit real heavy you can always use your foot to push their knee out from under them.
-hip bump sweep - feels very weird to me.
Arm and neck control and they postured up very tall so you post feet down and rear arm and push the hips through hopefully sweeping them over your leg. I'm not sure how this one can work unless you get it down very fast so that you're using the push/pull momentum.
6:00 Fundamentals Cody
Half Guard how to pass from top. Lace the hand, heavy chest to push legs together, arm under, then gable grip, sprawl out to pull leg from their lock, now pass either direction.
Don't mistake having your head on them for weight, the hips, the hips, the hips.
Defense: Push their head *in the direction they want to travel*.
Hilary brought 2 friends today so we had enough girls to rotate through.
-Scissor sweep
Don't forget to get their weight on you. If they sit real heavy you can always use your foot to push their knee out from under them.
-hip bump sweep - feels very weird to me.
Arm and neck control and they postured up very tall so you post feet down and rear arm and push the hips through hopefully sweeping them over your leg. I'm not sure how this one can work unless you get it down very fast so that you're using the push/pull momentum.
6:00 Fundamentals Cody
Half Guard how to pass from top. Lace the hand, heavy chest to push legs together, arm under, then gable grip, sprawl out to pull leg from their lock, now pass either direction.
Don't mistake having your head on them for weight, the hips, the hips, the hips.
Defense: Push their head *in the direction they want to travel*.
2009-05-09
BJJ 5/9
10:00 Private Kelly
All about position.
-belly button to belly button (hips always parallel). Always turn to them, always square up.
Started to feel this while rolling. Alot of things improved when I would get out and on a hip
-break the guard (hands, ribs)
Posture - big difference when your neck is up and when it's not. She demonstrated both and how one can be broken down, but the other cannot. I can still hardly believe it. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't feel it. The cat arch is what breaks the feet open. So, switch one hand to hold hip down while planting knee and then push away and do the cat arch to break, push a knee down and pass.
-shrimp
Shrimp is not to escape out the front. Shrimp is to make uncomfortable space under their legs in order to get your leg in. Push with hips to make enough space to get up on one hip, tuck your elbow inside their leg and bring your head to this arm very tight and then push out(up) with your butt. Your head is the fulcrum here.
And about Kelly, she's tough and she understands the art. She is a really great teacher because she can exercise restraint. It's a real joy working with her; I would be lucky to have her as my mentor.
All about position.
-belly button to belly button (hips always parallel). Always turn to them, always square up.
Started to feel this while rolling. Alot of things improved when I would get out and on a hip
-break the guard (hands, ribs)
Posture - big difference when your neck is up and when it's not. She demonstrated both and how one can be broken down, but the other cannot. I can still hardly believe it. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't feel it. The cat arch is what breaks the feet open. So, switch one hand to hold hip down while planting knee and then push away and do the cat arch to break, push a knee down and pass.
-shrimp
Shrimp is not to escape out the front. Shrimp is to make uncomfortable space under their legs in order to get your leg in. Push with hips to make enough space to get up on one hip, tuck your elbow inside their leg and bring your head to this arm very tight and then push out(up) with your butt. Your head is the fulcrum here.
And about Kelly, she's tough and she understands the art. She is a really great teacher because she can exercise restraint. It's a real joy working with her; I would be lucky to have her as my mentor.
2009-05-06
BJJ 5/6
5:15 Women's Kelly Cramer
-If you're getting taken into guard, make sure to get your knee in there with you
-The takedown doesn't stop with the front knee (she did it so fast that's all I could gather)
-In half guard, if you get that underhook and then plant ear to hip you can pass that side. (butt to knees to finish)
-In half guard, if they get that underhook and start planting that ear, MAKE SPACE, post off their head and drive hips up...then use that space you made to get your underhook and drive them back to the mat.
-Shrimp - don't ever want to be on your back so bring both knees up, bump with hips and at the same time turn to get up on one hip, up on the one hip bring your elbow to your knee. Ideally the knee comes up under their ankle. With this leg free hook their leg and then shrimp to the other side for guard or for taking the back, etc.
"Practice Tournament"
-Rita and I also worked the 2 things we learned last week (that sweep and taking the back from there)
*Really great to meet an experienced and cool female. I can learn a lot from Kelly and I'm real excited about it. In general I feel her experience and it makes me feel calm...and ready to learn.
Yesterday was my 2 month mark.
-If you're getting taken into guard, make sure to get your knee in there with you
-The takedown doesn't stop with the front knee (she did it so fast that's all I could gather)
-In half guard, if you get that underhook and then plant ear to hip you can pass that side. (butt to knees to finish)
-In half guard, if they get that underhook and start planting that ear, MAKE SPACE, post off their head and drive hips up...then use that space you made to get your underhook and drive them back to the mat.
-Shrimp - don't ever want to be on your back so bring both knees up, bump with hips and at the same time turn to get up on one hip, up on the one hip bring your elbow to your knee. Ideally the knee comes up under their ankle. With this leg free hook their leg and then shrimp to the other side for guard or for taking the back, etc.
"Practice Tournament"
-Rita and I also worked the 2 things we learned last week (that sweep and taking the back from there)
*Really great to meet an experienced and cool female. I can learn a lot from Kelly and I'm real excited about it. In general I feel her experience and it makes me feel calm...and ready to learn.
Yesterday was my 2 month mark.
Schedule
So the schedule I'm kinda falling into is:
SUNDAY
Rest
MONDAY
5:15 Women's @ BJJReno
6:00 Fundamentals @ BJJReno
TUESDAY
7:30 am Muay Thai with Casey at BBCF
WEDNESDAY
5:15 Women's @ BJJReno
THURSDAY
Rest
FRIDAY
5:00 Women's @ BBCF
6:00 CrossFit @ BBCF
SATURDAY
Run
SUNDAY
Rest
MONDAY
5:15 Women's @ BJJReno
6:00 Fundamentals @ BJJReno
TUESDAY
7:30 am Muay Thai with Casey at BBCF
WEDNESDAY
5:15 Women's @ BJJReno
THURSDAY
Rest
FRIDAY
5:00 Women's @ BBCF
6:00 CrossFit @ BBCF
SATURDAY
Run
2009-05-05
Muay Thai (private w/Casey)
I would really like to incorporate Muay Thai into my schedule for a few major reasons; #1 - super good cardio training and #2 - it's just fun to hit things and #3 - it will help loosen up my hips and flexbility for BJJ.
So, the goal is to be able to attend *regular* muay thai classes and at least feel like I'm performing each movement safely and correctly (before doing it wrong 5,000 times). With that goal in mind I have started private lessons with Casey. My goal is to learn and perform all the basic fundamentals correctly.
So, I had my first class Tuesday morning (5/5) and it was AWESOME!!!!!!!!
In just the first 45 minutes I came to trust Casey - when he said that I could stop looking where I was hitting and instead look at his chest and trust that I'll still see what I need to see I was very skeptical, but I tried it anyway, and he was right. There were many mini-trust scenarios like that. So, in just 45 minutes I feel like there was 200% improvement. Granted, we were starting from scratch. :)
He is a really great teacher and I look forward to a long teacher/student relationship with him.
So, here are my notes from that class:
GENERIC
-don't bounce, march
-breathe!!
-don't look/follow punches. Focus center, let peripheral do the work
-Distance - Feels too close to me sometimes and slightly to far other times, but I'm always wrong. I think it's just not natural to me yet. Measure including the shoulder extension with the jab.
-After anything, always get the gloves back in defense right away
KICK
-It's not the speed that brings the leg around...so practice it slowly
-Bring the leg off the floor in basically the natural direction that it was on the mat and bring it around in an arc that will come slightly down on the target
-Make sure to stuff with the hand
-keep the torso engaged, don't lean away from the fight/kick
-for the left leg there will be a quick switch of feet
JAB
-jab bring the shoulder up to protect
HOOK
-The thumb stays up
-Using the rotation of the hip
Combination
Push hard enough with the open hand left hook to sell it in order to get them to weight the front leg
Step quickly and cleanly out of the alley
Stuff them up...and use them for balance...with your right hand
Kick that weighted leg
So, the goal is to be able to attend *regular* muay thai classes and at least feel like I'm performing each movement safely and correctly (before doing it wrong 5,000 times). With that goal in mind I have started private lessons with Casey. My goal is to learn and perform all the basic fundamentals correctly.
So, I had my first class Tuesday morning (5/5) and it was AWESOME!!!!!!!!
In just the first 45 minutes I came to trust Casey - when he said that I could stop looking where I was hitting and instead look at his chest and trust that I'll still see what I need to see I was very skeptical, but I tried it anyway, and he was right. There were many mini-trust scenarios like that. So, in just 45 minutes I feel like there was 200% improvement. Granted, we were starting from scratch. :)
He is a really great teacher and I look forward to a long teacher/student relationship with him.
So, here are my notes from that class:
GENERIC
-don't bounce, march
-breathe!!
-don't look/follow punches. Focus center, let peripheral do the work
-Distance - Feels too close to me sometimes and slightly to far other times, but I'm always wrong. I think it's just not natural to me yet. Measure including the shoulder extension with the jab.
-After anything, always get the gloves back in defense right away
KICK
-It's not the speed that brings the leg around...so practice it slowly
-Bring the leg off the floor in basically the natural direction that it was on the mat and bring it around in an arc that will come slightly down on the target
-Make sure to stuff with the hand
-keep the torso engaged, don't lean away from the fight/kick
-for the left leg there will be a quick switch of feet
JAB
-jab bring the shoulder up to protect
HOOK
-The thumb stays up
-Using the rotation of the hip
Combination
Push hard enough with the open hand left hook to sell it in order to get them to weight the front leg
Step quickly and cleanly out of the alley
Stuff them up...and use them for balance...with your right hand
Kick that weighted leg
2009-05-04
BJJ 5/4
The BattleBorn location is a satellite of Gary Grate's school so I've always wanted to check out classes over at Gary's school, meet more people, train with different folks, and have more options in my schedule. They have a women's class Mondays @ 5:15 so I went.
5:15 Women's Marc
So, I got there a little early and I met the instructor for Mondays, Marc, and I thought he was really great. You can tell that he really enjoys the teaching experience. I met Jordan and Rita and the 3 of us worked together.
My notes from that class:
Shrimp - After the shrimp, pull that knee up - this way when you put the heel down it is already in the perfect place for the next shrimp. I was straightening both legs.
The sweep - Wrist control cross body into a bear hug, grab their lat, scoot hips opposite a little bit, underhook their leg and swing the (straight) leg in a big circle to sweep them that direction. Your leg will be straight down in a line from your body so they will pass right over it. Think breakdancing windmill :)
6"00 Fundamentals Cody
The 2nd half of a series he was doing on Half Guard. He seemed to say that he was coming from a place where he wanted us to think about the options available to us from this position. So, I can only remember about 3 things to do from that position, but when practiced I noticed that I wasn't thinking, "What's the one thing I know how to do now", instead, I was thinking, "What sorts of small changes do I want to make from here" so that class expanded my consciousness a bit. At the end you roll with a lot of different people, once you are on top, rest 15 seconds, then you're on bottom. So, you get to work both sides.
Sometimes you learn more things at once than you can write down, sometimes just one major thing sticks with you. From this class the major thing that stuck with me is that when I was on the bottom of half guard to NOT allow them to control me flat to my back...that I almost always can work up onto the side of one hip and from there I have options (the options we drilled in class). So I learned, and more importantly, actually FELT, an important positional key. Once, by getting up on that hip and working I was almost able to bring my other knee up high enough to get out to guard. This made me take note that I need to become more flexible and stronger in that higher range of leg motion.
5:15 Women's Marc
So, I got there a little early and I met the instructor for Mondays, Marc, and I thought he was really great. You can tell that he really enjoys the teaching experience. I met Jordan and Rita and the 3 of us worked together.
My notes from that class:
Shrimp - After the shrimp, pull that knee up - this way when you put the heel down it is already in the perfect place for the next shrimp. I was straightening both legs.
The sweep - Wrist control cross body into a bear hug, grab their lat, scoot hips opposite a little bit, underhook their leg and swing the (straight) leg in a big circle to sweep them that direction. Your leg will be straight down in a line from your body so they will pass right over it. Think breakdancing windmill :)
6"00 Fundamentals Cody
The 2nd half of a series he was doing on Half Guard. He seemed to say that he was coming from a place where he wanted us to think about the options available to us from this position. So, I can only remember about 3 things to do from that position, but when practiced I noticed that I wasn't thinking, "What's the one thing I know how to do now", instead, I was thinking, "What sorts of small changes do I want to make from here" so that class expanded my consciousness a bit. At the end you roll with a lot of different people, once you are on top, rest 15 seconds, then you're on bottom. So, you get to work both sides.
Sometimes you learn more things at once than you can write down, sometimes just one major thing sticks with you. From this class the major thing that stuck with me is that when I was on the bottom of half guard to NOT allow them to control me flat to my back...that I almost always can work up onto the side of one hip and from there I have options (the options we drilled in class). So I learned, and more importantly, actually FELT, an important positional key. Once, by getting up on that hip and working I was almost able to bring my other knee up high enough to get out to guard. This made me take note that I need to become more flexible and stronger in that higher range of leg motion.
2009-05-01
BJJ 5/1
5:00 Women's Rick Reeves BBCF
Anaconda: From knees, dive arm past neck and up under their armpit, grab your bicep (like a rear naked choke) and then tuck head into their side and roll. Finish by rotating toward them and elbows together
Defense: grab your own leg and lengthen; it will open that space for your neck.
Triangletine: From knees, dive arm past neck and up under their armpit with gable grip. Push their arm over and post your knee up under it, then sit back into guard. Finish by tightening the guard and extending your body, raise hips, look up and over if necessary
Triangle Choke when they have side control: Your arm past their neck and grab your own foot or knee. Once that is secure, sweep your head underneath their body...try to get their arm to position by sweeping it with your hip on the rotation around...otherwise it will end up on the side of their head. Finish with triangle.
Defense: answer the phone, post on that elbow
Rubber Guard: In your guard, overhook one arm, bring your other foot up real high on their back. He showed us a crazy underhand grip of your leg in order to swing your foot around their face and under their neck...pull down on the head.
*Gotta work on my flexibility
*Gotta make the triangle defense more natural
Anaconda: From knees, dive arm past neck and up under their armpit, grab your bicep (like a rear naked choke) and then tuck head into their side and roll. Finish by rotating toward them and elbows together
Defense: grab your own leg and lengthen; it will open that space for your neck.
Triangletine: From knees, dive arm past neck and up under their armpit with gable grip. Push their arm over and post your knee up under it, then sit back into guard. Finish by tightening the guard and extending your body, raise hips, look up and over if necessary
Triangle Choke when they have side control: Your arm past their neck and grab your own foot or knee. Once that is secure, sweep your head underneath their body...try to get their arm to position by sweeping it with your hip on the rotation around...otherwise it will end up on the side of their head. Finish with triangle.
Defense: answer the phone, post on that elbow
Rubber Guard: In your guard, overhook one arm, bring your other foot up real high on their back. He showed us a crazy underhand grip of your leg in order to swing your foot around their face and under their neck...pull down on the head.
*Gotta work on my flexibility
*Gotta make the triangle defense more natural
2009-04-13
Hit Smart Goal #2
I posted SG#2 ~23 days ago and I hit it yesterday. I got out my one size smaller jeans and they fit. Also, I'm pretty sure they were clean (as in, they were fresh from the dryer not already stretched out). So, I leave for my best friend's wedding on Thursday and then when I return on Tuesday I will have to implement SMART GOAL #3. In addition I also bought some UnderArmour clothes yesterday and I didn't have to buy X-Large. That was really cool.
2009-04-01
BJJ 3/31
5:30 Shannone BBCF
Passing the Guard:
Top things I learned today are
1. Quick
Keep head into stomach, when put your hands in their armpits, keep thumbs in, inch your way down until you can't go further (and your knee is correctly positioned right in their tailbone) before you post up and push away to break the guard. The first part can be slow, but the knee,push,post away has to be quick. Shannone seemed to weasel his way down calmly and then bam he was out. I keep getting caught up in triangle because too slow.
2. Keep their hips down
The knee in the tailbone won't be effective if you are not controlling their hips. Otherwise, when you push away they raise up over the knee and you start all over again. You lost your leverage.
3.Passing
There is a pass here once the guard is open and you're trying to get one of their knees down - two ways
1. After you put your knee over their knee you also hook your opposite foot (this will help get your other leg over when the time comes)
2. Or go the other direction by pushing their leg into their chest - grab their opposite shoulder and push their leg into them, post them up a little if needed, keep leaning in and then start shifting around their leg. You're passing their leg.
Don't forget to hook your forearm and hand on the leg that you are holding down to pass...for two reasons; one is to control the leg, the other is to defend them grabbing and straightening that arm
To defend against triangle, spin around with it - toward the arm that is caught. Be careful to be pulling that arm back so they don't develop it into an arm bar by using your spinning against you and pushing your head out of the triangle.
Control
Don't forget to push away the hands, pull the elbow, stop the problem!!!! It seems so simple and stupid, but it just didn't occur to me.
Passing the Guard:
Top things I learned today are
1. Quick
Keep head into stomach, when put your hands in their armpits, keep thumbs in, inch your way down until you can't go further (and your knee is correctly positioned right in their tailbone) before you post up and push away to break the guard. The first part can be slow, but the knee,push,post away has to be quick. Shannone seemed to weasel his way down calmly and then bam he was out. I keep getting caught up in triangle because too slow.
2. Keep their hips down
The knee in the tailbone won't be effective if you are not controlling their hips. Otherwise, when you push away they raise up over the knee and you start all over again. You lost your leverage.
3.Passing
There is a pass here once the guard is open and you're trying to get one of their knees down - two ways
1. After you put your knee over their knee you also hook your opposite foot (this will help get your other leg over when the time comes)
2. Or go the other direction by pushing their leg into their chest - grab their opposite shoulder and push their leg into them, post them up a little if needed, keep leaning in and then start shifting around their leg. You're passing their leg.
Don't forget to hook your forearm and hand on the leg that you are holding down to pass...for two reasons; one is to control the leg, the other is to defend them grabbing and straightening that arm
To defend against triangle, spin around with it - toward the arm that is caught. Be careful to be pulling that arm back so they don't develop it into an arm bar by using your spinning against you and pushing your head out of the triangle.
Control
Don't forget to push away the hands, pull the elbow, stop the problem!!!! It seems so simple and stupid, but it just didn't occur to me.
2009-03-27
Recovery
Recovery
I recently learned the value of Rest & Recovery.
Before vacation, I was doing CrossFit on Monday and Jiu-Jitsu & CrossFit on Wednesday,Friday, but I was not honoring the sleep cycle. Frankly, I was starting to feel pretty beat up, tired, and burnt out (mentally and physically). On vacation I had alot of activity in the ocean and I had alot of really deep sleep and pretty clean diet. My joints started to feel better and all my weird little muscle *tweaks* cleared up. The day after I returned from Hawaii, My Fight Gone Bad score improved by 17 points (approximately 8%) , but most importantly I felt very strong, totally repaired, and mentally relaxed and ready. Vacation showed me that I wasn't supporting my Recovery with the same thought process or care that I was investing in the WODs.
Now, I'm trying to have some discipline for Recovery too. To carve out the appropriate amount of time for sleep to promote Recovery is difficult, but now I respect how important it really is.
I recently learned the value of Rest & Recovery.
Before vacation, I was doing CrossFit on Monday and Jiu-Jitsu & CrossFit on Wednesday,Friday, but I was not honoring the sleep cycle. Frankly, I was starting to feel pretty beat up, tired, and burnt out (mentally and physically). On vacation I had alot of activity in the ocean and I had alot of really deep sleep and pretty clean diet. My joints started to feel better and all my weird little muscle *tweaks* cleared up. The day after I returned from Hawaii, My Fight Gone Bad score improved by 17 points (approximately 8%) , but most importantly I felt very strong, totally repaired, and mentally relaxed and ready. Vacation showed me that I wasn't supporting my Recovery with the same thought process or care that I was investing in the WODs.
Now, I'm trying to have some discipline for Recovery too. To carve out the appropriate amount of time for sleep to promote Recovery is difficult, but now I respect how important it really is.
2009-03-25
BJJ 3/25
5:00 Women's Rick Reeves BBCF
Shrimp - To get out of mount. Put both hands on their knee and post on your opposite heel. Then quickly slide your (L) hip out and toward the right...away from their leg you are pushing on. This should allow you to get the one leg either all the way free or to butterfly. Be sure to follow up either with butterfly or with the opposite side shrimp.
From a single shrimp you can get butterfly and then by kicking with your feet you break their base and can get them in guard.
Or instead of shrimp you can push up on their hips with your hips and hands, then drop your hips to make space and bring your knees through to butterfly and do the same as above.
Side Mount - control by going under opposite shoulder and behind head and leaning shoulder in. Keep your knee in their hip to follow their shrimp away. Hand that went under the armpit is the hand on top so you can use it to post quickly if need be. (Lay & Pray)
Shrimp - To get out of mount. Put both hands on their knee and post on your opposite heel. Then quickly slide your (L) hip out and toward the right...away from their leg you are pushing on. This should allow you to get the one leg either all the way free or to butterfly. Be sure to follow up either with butterfly or with the opposite side shrimp.
From a single shrimp you can get butterfly and then by kicking with your feet you break their base and can get them in guard.
Or instead of shrimp you can push up on their hips with your hips and hands, then drop your hips to make space and bring your knees through to butterfly and do the same as above.
Side Mount - control by going under opposite shoulder and behind head and leaning shoulder in. Keep your knee in their hip to follow their shrimp away. Hand that went under the armpit is the hand on top so you can use it to post quickly if need be. (Lay & Pray)
2009-03-23
Smart Goal #2
Now that my SMART GOAL #1 is done (Hawaii was awesome), it's time for my next goal.
SMART GOAL #2
S: Be trimmer for Best Friend's wedding
M: Fit into my "smaller" jeans comfortably
(one size smaller)
A: under 1400 calories a day
Crossfit M,W,F or BJJ/CF W,F
Treadmill T,S
R: Yes
T: April 15 ( 23 days from today)
SMART GOAL #2
S: Be trimmer for Best Friend's wedding
M: Fit into my "smaller" jeans comfortably
(one size smaller)
A: under 1400 calories a day
Crossfit M,W,F or BJJ/CF W,F
Treadmill T,S
R: Yes
T: April 15 ( 23 days from today)
2009-03-11
BJJ 3/11
5:00 Women's Rick Reeves BBCF
The Bump Sweep (Left)
Left Grab same side wrist, Right swim over opposite shoulder and post rear (L) hand, drop feet, drive (R) hip - direction of travel is to the left, you have their arm they would post with.
2 options if the Bump Sweep will not develop correctly:
Shoulder Lock: The same beginning as the bump sweep is into a shoulder lock. If the bump sweep hip drive isn't working you can change to (R) hand grab your own (L) wrist and bend their arm first, then start cranking it toward their head. The farther the elbow is bent first, the more pressure on the shoulder. The added bonus is that you are probably driving them toward the mat over your (R) shoulder.
Defense against the shoulder lock: Grab your own shirt or hand inside
Guillotine: Pull the hips back and grab around the head; get in there deep and turn the wrist "up" - which seems to be the blade toward your own face. Get the second hand in there, then close the guard and start separating. Focus on the most complex part which is getting around the head/neck correctly first. Getting the guard again will be relatively easier.
Method to break the guard:
Both hands low and hard into their abdomen, post knee into their tailbone (placement is very important) and push away from them. Done correctly, can allow you to get your knee up into combat stance or disengage completely.
From Guard: break their posturing up by grabbing the arms and pulling over your head while driving with the knees. Keep control by going under one arm and locking to your hand that came behind their head. They have no space for harm this way.
The Bump Sweep (Left)
Left Grab same side wrist, Right swim over opposite shoulder and post rear (L) hand, drop feet, drive (R) hip - direction of travel is to the left, you have their arm they would post with.
2 options if the Bump Sweep will not develop correctly:
Shoulder Lock: The same beginning as the bump sweep is into a shoulder lock. If the bump sweep hip drive isn't working you can change to (R) hand grab your own (L) wrist and bend their arm first, then start cranking it toward their head. The farther the elbow is bent first, the more pressure on the shoulder. The added bonus is that you are probably driving them toward the mat over your (R) shoulder.
Defense against the shoulder lock: Grab your own shirt or hand inside
Guillotine: Pull the hips back and grab around the head; get in there deep and turn the wrist "up" - which seems to be the blade toward your own face. Get the second hand in there, then close the guard and start separating. Focus on the most complex part which is getting around the head/neck correctly first. Getting the guard again will be relatively easier.
Method to break the guard:
Both hands low and hard into their abdomen, post knee into their tailbone (placement is very important) and push away from them. Done correctly, can allow you to get your knee up into combat stance or disengage completely.
From Guard: break their posturing up by grabbing the arms and pulling over your head while driving with the knees. Keep control by going under one arm and locking to your hand that came behind their head. They have no space for harm this way.
2009-03-05
Motivation/Goals
The extrinsic motivation that has helped me immensely is the camaraderie at the gym. I joke that BattleBorn CF is like "Cheers" to me where everybody knows your name. To come in and see familiar faces and know that we're all in this together for the same general goals and supporting each other helps me come in when I don't feel like it. I know that I'll see familiar faces and that I'll help them keep going or they'll help me keep going and that is what it's all about for me right now.
Intrinsically, I decided in February that I would use all my business trip travel and downtime to do some serious soul searching and try to identify my roadblocks to working out and eating right and identify and set my goals. So, like the nerd that I am I researched goal setting, goal theory and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The goal methodology that most appealed to me was originally a project management tool called S.M.A.R.T and it loosely stands for "Smart, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic, Time-bound". During the trip I made one SMART goal and I started it on 2/17(the day after I returned).
Here is my SMART GOAL #1
S: feel comfortable in my cute little surfer shorts and a halter
M: lose 1.5 inches in the waist
A: Crossfit Mon, Wed, Fri & Treadmill Sat & Under 1400 calories a day
R: yes
T: between 2/17 and 3/13(going to Hawaii)
My progress on this goal seems to be on track. I have maintained the "Action-Oriented" piece which is that I would work out at least 4 times a week and I would have under 1400 calories. Since 2/17 all of my jeans are fitting looser and I went one belt notch tighter. I don't feel amazing in my little surfer trunks and halter, but I don't feel disgusting anymore either and that is a huge step. I think that having this SMART goal helped me focus, helped me believe it was attainable, helped me keep my contract with myself of what Action I was going to take; all wrapped up in one neat package.
Intrinsically, I decided in February that I would use all my business trip travel and downtime to do some serious soul searching and try to identify my roadblocks to working out and eating right and identify and set my goals. So, like the nerd that I am I researched goal setting, goal theory and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The goal methodology that most appealed to me was originally a project management tool called S.M.A.R.T and it loosely stands for "Smart, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic, Time-bound". During the trip I made one SMART goal and I started it on 2/17(the day after I returned).
Here is my SMART GOAL #1
S: feel comfortable in my cute little surfer shorts and a halter
M: lose 1.5 inches in the waist
A: Crossfit Mon, Wed, Fri & Treadmill Sat & Under 1400 calories a day
R: yes
T: between 2/17 and 3/13(going to Hawaii)
My progress on this goal seems to be on track. I have maintained the "Action-Oriented" piece which is that I would work out at least 4 times a week and I would have under 1400 calories. Since 2/17 all of my jeans are fitting looser and I went one belt notch tighter. I don't feel amazing in my little surfer trunks and halter, but I don't feel disgusting anymore either and that is a huge step. I think that having this SMART goal helped me focus, helped me believe it was attainable, helped me keep my contract with myself of what Action I was going to take; all wrapped up in one neat package.
2009-01-07
Catch-up
I have not posted since April 2007. I looked back on my posts and I see that I was having very serious time management problems back then. I got a new job in Reno in November 2007.
Then, I used the time I would have been driving to start seeing a personal trainer Ryan Wholey and he was a wonderful, knowledgeable, tough trainer that always explained everything to me and listened. While seeing him I noticed a lot of improvements like my lower back stopped hurting at work and my core was stronger. He moved me away from static lifting and toward more functional movements. Everything included balance and/or multiple things going on at once and A LOT of core work. I saw him 2 or 3 times a week until July 2008 when I had to quit to support a friend after a serious tragedy. I had great improvement so I consider that the beginning of a major phase in my life to get back on track with fitness.
I was away from fitness until November 2008 when I discovered Crossfit. I had some sessions with Drew in Reno and I learned a lot of sound techniques for lifting safely.
Now I am splitting my time between Crossfit and my treadmill. I am only allowed to watch my Battlestar Galactica episodes on the treadmill so that's a great motivator to get on there when I want to catch another episode.
I also just put up a punching bag at home and I would like to learn how to hit it safely (footwork, striking mechanics, etc) so I'll be keeping my eye on the kickboxing class.
Then, I used the time I would have been driving to start seeing a personal trainer Ryan Wholey and he was a wonderful, knowledgeable, tough trainer that always explained everything to me and listened. While seeing him I noticed a lot of improvements like my lower back stopped hurting at work and my core was stronger. He moved me away from static lifting and toward more functional movements. Everything included balance and/or multiple things going on at once and A LOT of core work. I saw him 2 or 3 times a week until July 2008 when I had to quit to support a friend after a serious tragedy. I had great improvement so I consider that the beginning of a major phase in my life to get back on track with fitness.
I was away from fitness until November 2008 when I discovered Crossfit. I had some sessions with Drew in Reno and I learned a lot of sound techniques for lifting safely.
Now I am splitting my time between Crossfit and my treadmill. I am only allowed to watch my Battlestar Galactica episodes on the treadmill so that's a great motivator to get on there when I want to catch another episode.
I also just put up a punching bag at home and I would like to learn how to hit it safely (footwork, striking mechanics, etc) so I'll be keeping my eye on the kickboxing class.
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