Five hours of sleep really isn't enough. *le sigh* At least my next test isn't until Monday.
I finally got to talk to my coaches about competing today, and they're behind me 100%. We decided on NAGA in Charlotte, NC, and they said they would try to get a team together to go. I'm not sure if I should be excited or terrified...I feel ready for another tournament, but then I start thinking about all that I have to do, and how much hard work it's going to be. Hopefully I'm just really tired from the double whammy of exams this week and I'll be more gung-ho about it once I get some sleep. I don't even know what to focus on--metabolic conditioning, or strength training, or try and mix both? Then there's my stand-up game, which hasn't seen the light of day in months. And I have to watch my diet. If anything, I should probably be trying to gain some weight in muscle, but packing in protein isn't super easy as a vegetarian. Really I just want to avoid junk food, but the package my mom sent me packed with the Indian version of Ramen is definitely NOT helpful...especially when I have it an hour before jiu jitsu.
Beginner's class was top side control. Started with basic positioning making a "plus sign" with your body and your partner's, and staying on top with no hands while they moved. Worked with my vet school classmate, Mash, who started a little over a month ago. She only has about 15 pounds on me, which is really nice to drill with because that way we both know that if our moves don't work, it's because our technique is off, not because our partner is too big. Next we worked sinking our one hip down to our partner's hip side. Need to remember to sink my hips back more and keep up off my knees. Then we worked sinking our hip down on their shoulder when they try to mug your hips from the bottom with their forearm. Use your elbow on the far side of their head to bring their head towards you, bending their spine. Next we worked on floating from one side to the other. When they move their legs away from you, get up on your hands in 4-point base. Thread the needle with your leg to the side you want to go, then push their face back with your hips. Sink down and bring your other leg over.
We started the advanced class with rolling--first 5 minute rounds, then 7 minutes, and the last one was 10 minutes. The arch of my foot started cramping less than halfway through that last round, so I probably spent more than half of it trying to massage it out. Class was guard breaks--standard break, angled break from behind the knee if they bring their hips up, and the spine-contortion break if they break your posture and pull you down. Worked with Jess, our brown belt lady. She came from California with her husband last fall for school, and until she got here I was essentially the only girl training at my school. Safe to say that she's kind of a life/soul saver. And she's really close to my size, so we usually drill together.
I grabbed one of our newer blue belts after class to help me go over some of the self-defense moves on the blue belt curriculum. They're almost definitely going to be on the test, and now that it's about 3 weeks away, I'm starting to get nervous about the self-defense stuff we don't do very often. Most of it seemed pretty simple, though, so I think I'll be good after a few review sessions.
I finally got to talk to my coaches about competing today, and they're behind me 100%. We decided on NAGA in Charlotte, NC, and they said they would try to get a team together to go. I'm not sure if I should be excited or terrified...I feel ready for another tournament, but then I start thinking about all that I have to do, and how much hard work it's going to be. Hopefully I'm just really tired from the double whammy of exams this week and I'll be more gung-ho about it once I get some sleep. I don't even know what to focus on--metabolic conditioning, or strength training, or try and mix both? Then there's my stand-up game, which hasn't seen the light of day in months. And I have to watch my diet. If anything, I should probably be trying to gain some weight in muscle, but packing in protein isn't super easy as a vegetarian. Really I just want to avoid junk food, but the package my mom sent me packed with the Indian version of Ramen is definitely NOT helpful...especially when I have it an hour before jiu jitsu.
Beginner's class was top side control. Started with basic positioning making a "plus sign" with your body and your partner's, and staying on top with no hands while they moved. Worked with my vet school classmate, Mash, who started a little over a month ago. She only has about 15 pounds on me, which is really nice to drill with because that way we both know that if our moves don't work, it's because our technique is off, not because our partner is too big. Next we worked sinking our one hip down to our partner's hip side. Need to remember to sink my hips back more and keep up off my knees. Then we worked sinking our hip down on their shoulder when they try to mug your hips from the bottom with their forearm. Use your elbow on the far side of their head to bring their head towards you, bending their spine. Next we worked on floating from one side to the other. When they move their legs away from you, get up on your hands in 4-point base. Thread the needle with your leg to the side you want to go, then push their face back with your hips. Sink down and bring your other leg over.
We started the advanced class with rolling--first 5 minute rounds, then 7 minutes, and the last one was 10 minutes. The arch of my foot started cramping less than halfway through that last round, so I probably spent more than half of it trying to massage it out. Class was guard breaks--standard break, angled break from behind the knee if they bring their hips up, and the spine-contortion break if they break your posture and pull you down. Worked with Jess, our brown belt lady. She came from California with her husband last fall for school, and until she got here I was essentially the only girl training at my school. Safe to say that she's kind of a life/soul saver. And she's really close to my size, so we usually drill together.
I grabbed one of our newer blue belts after class to help me go over some of the self-defense moves on the blue belt curriculum. They're almost definitely going to be on the test, and now that it's about 3 weeks away, I'm starting to get nervous about the self-defense stuff we don't do very often. Most of it seemed pretty simple, though, so I think I'll be good after a few review sessions.
where do you train?
ReplyDelete@shakiaharris I train at KnoxBJJ in Knoxville, TN. You?
ReplyDelete