Thinking a lot about this post from last year after my performances today at GB Bellevue's grand re-opening.
Mundial Notes from Shawn Williams
One thing I've always encountered, after more than six years of jiu-jitsu competition (BTW, I just found a copy of the flyer from the very first BJJ tournament I ever entered in September 2005, three weeks after I started training), is a sort of "contact shock" when the match begins. In short, it takes me forever to warm-up to the contest and, instead, I remain in a sort of fatigue-imitating paralysis that makes it almost impossible to compete effectively after about three minutes of grappling.
I've known this for years. And, what's worse, I've known the antidote for years. But Shawn Williams was the first person to really put it to words. I don't think everyone is like this - especially younger, more athletically gifted folks. But for those of us who are, or who have become, hard-gainers, training and competing "a little tired but loose" - as Professor Lance once put it in the middle of his second training of the day - is far better than training and competing "tight but rested", as has been the case for me far too often.
One note here. The biggest issue here is making the sacrifice to be able to do this preparation, recreating the schedule to make room for what needs to be done before and after training. Count that among The Commitments.
