Live Training only today - given the holiday-nature of the day. That was fine with me. I've been debating changing my training schedule to include a lot more Live Training than usual. And while I haven't fully decided on a schedule for the fall, I'm close - and today's time spent Live Training only confirmed it.
Did a little Rap Star, but by far most of my time from the guard was spent working on the 2 on 1. Some nice success with hook sweeps and sleeve control out of that guard, but I'm still definitely getting used to it. There were probably some take-the-back opportunities that I missed, especially when guys got preoccupied with trying to free their wrist.
I also noticed that there might be a armbar/pendulum sweep option when guys over commit to trying to free their wrist using the other, free arm. Something to keep an eye on.
Speaking of armbars and pendulum sweeps, the first day of Operation Escola Na Escola is off to a pretty good start. I'm very much taking Griff's advice to build an environment that will help my jiu jitsu continue to improve - and hopefully at an even faster pace than it has for the past 5+ years. Like everything else in jiu jitsu, it's a matter of working on things a little bit each day - and to recognize that any work done after-hours will just continue to add up and add up over time.
A part of this is also about my sanity. There is a lot of change at the academy these days and while 99% of it is for the good, change is change and some of us deal better with it than others. As someone who can be a real slave for stability, I'll admit that this occasionally leaves me feeling a little lost and adrift in the school I've been training in for the better part of a decade.
"Escola na escola" should go a long way toward helping minimize these feelings, especially since I'm not likely to make my mark on Gracie Barra Seattle as an outstanding competitor or great teacher. As much as the Operation is about making my own process better and more robust, it is also about becoming a real asset for guys and gals who are blue belts and just really starting to get going in jiu jitsu. There's so much that I feel like I figured out the hard way over the past year and a half; if I can spare any blue belt some of the confusion and moments of jiu jitsu angst that I experienced, then the whole thing will be more than worth it.
159.0 on the scale post-train. I was about three pounds over in the gi before training - and in my heavier gi - which is fine. It's all IBJJF rules from here on out, meaning 167.5 in the gi about about 162 out of it are my marks.
