6/28/2012
I've been at the UFC gym for over a
month now. Still think the place is awesome. There's so much to do
and so many classes to take, just have to remember to register two
weeks ahead of time because they fill up fast. I've taken a few of
the fitness classes and a boxing class but my favorite remains
jiu-jitsu.
In the past few weeks I've run into a
lot of people I used to train with at Gracie Barra and some of us
were able to meet up to do our own small training session when the
mats were open. Good fun, learned a few new techniques, and also
learned that I'm really really rusty. It's like my mind remembers I
used to know a technique, sweep, or submission attack but my muscle
memory went blank.
The gym holds a few jiu-jitsu classes
geared for people brand new to it. It was pretty slow at first but
each class I took got progressively more involved and today we did
some sparring. Still felt really rusty though, but whatever, I
figured the best way to get back into it is to dive right in and hit
the ground rolling.
During sparring today I was paired up
with a guy I know from Gracie Barra, he's a higher ranked blue belt
than me. He controlled most of the positions but at least I wasn't
caught in a submission. Next I rolled with a very eager and energetic
white belt. I immediately pulled guard and he exerted a lot of effort
and tried to muscle his way out of the guard. It was kind of
uncomfortable because he kept digging his elbows into my legs. I
switched to an open guard to lessen the discomfort and the chances of
getting hurt in case he tweaked my knee or ankle trying to power his
way out. He tried to leap out of my guard and I easily moved with
him. I decided to just go with the flow and let his momentum put him
in a bad spot. It wasn't long before I had his back and applied a
rear-naked choke.
Although he used a lot of muscle and
not so much technique, rolling with that guy was helpful. I was
caught in a few uncomfortable positions that I should not have gotten
myself into so now I know I need to be aware of that (all part of
shaking the rust off I guess). But I also maintained my composure,
avoided getting myself into any real danger of being submitted, and
worked my way out of those bad spots.
The third guy I rolled with was brand
new and as soon as he saw my belt he told me he just wanted to learn
from my technique. I helped show him how to break the guard and he
got into side-control. Eventually I reversed the position and went to
knee-on-belly, which has been one of my go to positions ever since I
learned it. The cool part is that while in that position the guy was
asking me questions about what was going on and I answered as best I
could. Then I told him to stop pushing his arms out so much and he
asked why. I decided to answer by demonstrating and proceeded to put
him in an armbar. I liked rolling with him. Reminded me that even
though my technique is rusty I still have enough knowledge to help
out the new guys, which I enjoy doing.
At the end of class the Professor/Coach
announced that this was his first class at a more advanced level.
Awesome! I can't wait to get more consistent and advanced roll
sessions in. Gotta shake the rust off!
