Decided to take Wednesday off. I've been really dragging myself across the finish line at the end of Monday's and Tuesday's trainings, which is probably a signal to slow down a bit.
I'm pretty much going to start my off-mat conditioning program from the top. No outside conditioning this week, then three weeks of LSD/cardiac capacity work, followed by three weeks of cardiac power/threshold training. Timing-wise, the Revolution event will pop up at the end of the first block. The Gi Only Tournament in December will actually fit in to this revised, 8-9 Weeks Out perfectly, given a two week "Fight Speed" period after the second block. It will be weird competing on a Sunday, but I'm expecting an interesting event, nonetheless. There is certainly room on the calendar for a few more tournaments in Western Washington.
I'd love to be able to take the exact same class twice. I feel as if I just got introduced to a few techniques this week, techniques that may or may not work for my game. But a part of me knows that there will always be new techniques to learn, or new variations on old techniques, to crowd out what I may have just been trying to sneak in to my jiu jitsu. The cross grip guard with spin is one example, but the Cobra guard slide to deep half may be an even better example. I can see both moves possibly helping me do some things I'd like to do (like taking the back from different guard situations). But the crucible is actually drilling and training those moves on my own. And the other moves. And the other moves. So much jiu jitsu, so little of me.
I was reading a very interesting report about a guy who went to the Gracie Barra jiu jitsu camp in Rio awhile back. One of the things he said was that, after awhile, it was hard to get the steam to train 2-3 times a day. I think this was when the guy was in the third and final week of his stay. I can't argue with the guy since he was there and I wasn't. But I'd like to believe that, health notwithstanding, training 2-3 times a day for three weeks is the kind of thing that every really dedicated jiu jitsu guy (or gal) would want to do once a year or so. Even twice a day, five days a week, for two weeks would probably provide a boost to your training that could last for months.
The plan is to train Thursday and Friday, and then spend the weekend with Saulo. The Saturday session runs from 11 am to 1 pm, and then from 2 pm to 4 pm. Then on Sunday from 11 to 1 again. On Saturday, I want to make sure I have a lunch plan put together or I'm sure I will be fading hard by 3. I also need to make sure I get my digital camera together. I missed getting a picture with Marcelo Garcia - though I did get him to autography my book. I'd like to see if I can get both with Professor Ribeiro.
