"I always wonder why
My mama left town
New Haven ain't a bag of salt ..."
-- "Too Tough to Die"
Watching Vancouver struggle to even the score against the L.A. Kings on one of the more eventful Fridays in the last five years ... The 13th, indeed ...
I'm very grateful for the training today: starting off with some cardio power spin moves drills (3 1-min sets with typical 38/28 HR splits) near the end of a pre-Live Training conditioning of 100 takedowns, 100 hipscapes, forward and backward mat sprints, etc.
Live Training was a good roll with Prof Casey, mostly me working standing passes from the top, and a pair of back to back rolls with Angus, who's developed a couple of new submissions that were worth watching out for. I'm still having a difficult time getting comfortable in Rap Star, and am not really finding the angles to be really effective with the combination threat. This may have to do with the "guard-fitting" notion I've been thinking about: the idea that, for me, my half guard is most effective against larger opponents, while my Rap Star "entangling" guards are better reserved for smaller opponents with superior flexibility and movement.
I'm going to keep working on it. But basis today what I really need to work on is converting good-to-great half guard positions to good-to-great deep half positions, especially the Bernardo Series I've been studying. From the top, I'm still not backstepping, at all, and need to get over my risk-aversion (or just find a few smaller training partners to help me build a reasonable confidence level).
A good day on the mat. A necessary day on the mat. Warrior diet is working. Armbars (WTF?!) are working. Breathing is working. 161.4 on the scale post-train, guessed in advance to the tenth.
