"Ju jitsu? I'm going to learn ... Ju jitsu?"
--Neo, "The Matrix"
That's the best way to describe what has been happening over the past few weeks as the Gracie Barra Fundamentals curriculum has been re-engineering my standing guard pass game. In the Practice and Competition Gameplans, all of this is just called "Scoop". But the details, variations and focus Profs Rodrigo and Carlos have been giving this pass have been pretty much everything I could ask for when it comes to finally developing a Unified Field Theory of passing the guard.
More good training on Wednesday. I'm finishing open mats these days, a testament to both my improved technique and improved cardio (believe me, Patience is the mother of both). As ambivalent as I am about competing in tournaments, one thing I do appreciate about them is the environment that is created as guys are training and preparing for competition. I'm not convinced that competition itself makes anyone better. But I have no doubt that preparing and training for competition will help you see jiu jitsu for the martial art it is. And there is definite value in that.
158.4 post-train. I actually made a pre-train gi weight of 167.4, which was a great sign on our allegedly, notoriously overweight scale. My home scale (a cheap one, I admit) tracks the academy scale pretty well. So I'm not necessarily convinced that the academy scale is as far off as I'm told. Neurosis aside, it's probably a good idea to have an academy scale that adds pounds rather than taking them away.
