Talking with Abel as the GB Seattle Invitational was winding down, he said that while the 12 times a month he was putting in a month wasn't bad, getting to 15 a month is really where you want to be. "That way, you're essentially training every other day," he said.
I couldn't agree more. I used to say to myself that one reason the Brazilians in Brazil were so good was because they probably trained every day - minimum. I can't train every day (at least not until Enlightenment and subsequent liberation from the samsara of wage employment), but I think being able to say that I basically train every other day is saying something. I think that dedication ("I spend two hours every other day working on my knitting/guitar playing/gardening/skiing/horseback riding ...".) is something that would be obvious to anyone who heard it even if they didn't know (or didn't care) about the activity itself.
And the proof in that pudding is in the eating, for sure. I remember years ago Rodrigo telling us - I must have been a white belt at the time - that if we were thinking about competing in the upcoming tournament, then training AT LEAST three times a week, was what you needed to do. He's since said the same thing, but dropped that standard to at least two times a week, but I think - if you really want to compete at your highest level - Rodrigo was right the first time.
The idea being - in my translation - that training three times a week will probably keep you from being embarassed in a match. But it probably won't be enough to guarantee placing and earning points toward the team trophy.
My first quarter pace was 3.17 times a week. I'm on a 3.375 pace right now with about a week and a half to go in the second quarter. If I train every day next week and Monday and Tuesday of the final week of the month, that pace can climb as high as 3.5. That would be a 10% increase over the first quarter.
Training 15 days a month gets you a pace of 3.75 a week. 16 days a month gets you the prize GPA figure of 4.0. Those may be targets worth thinking about for the third and fourth quarters
I didn't compete this morning. I arrived a little later than I'd planned after my strategy to avoid the 520 bridge closure went awry. Rodrigo through Pat asked me if I wanted a fight and I told him, truthfully, that it didn't matter either way. I was most looking forward to the open mat and getting in a fourth day of training for the week.
I didn't end up getting a refereed match. Rodrigo had matched me up with Andrew from GB Seattle at Bellevue, who had a very exciting match with Sauleh - the most competitive since the last Revolution. But Andrew injured his shoulder (or made worse an existing injury, I wasn't sure) and decided against risking it. Again, that was fine with me. I was pretty positive that what I needed - and need most over the next few weeks - isn't referreed competition, it's the death cycle.
The three sessions that I did have, somewhere between 8 and 10 minutes each, I think, were great. A blue belt from Ballard, Jessie Chen from Ballard and Lance. I've pretty much decided to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love my Guard Game as is, and had a lot of fun rolling and focusing on recognizing exactly what type of opportunity existed or that I wanted to create. I've actually seen the most success with this when it comes to my scissor sweep, which has been bad to non-existent.
But what I'm most proud of was my standing guard attack with Lance. Even though I didn't pass, I was glad that I plunged right into SRO against a very tough sparring partner. I was able to work on my balance and at least gain some confidence that I wasn't going to spontaneously combust just for trying to open and pass on the feet. That's part of that "demystification" that I think is necessary for me to break through against what is probably my most critical weakness in jiu jitsu.
Actually, there's no probably about it. But at least I'm that much closer to being able to focus on details of what I'm trying to get done rather than on rounding up the will to do it in the first place.
