Lovin' Every Minute Of It

I'm super happy! It's like regular happy,
except I'm wearing a cape.

I went to the beginner class at LBJJ tonight, and it was a true white belt class, because none of the students who were there held rank at the dojo (well, except for me). We worked on sweeps from when your opponent stands up in your guard, and I did feel pretty special when Greg used me to demonstrate the second sweep we worked on. I don't remember ever learning that particular sweep before, but I was able to pick it up pretty easily, and I even effectively used it against Greg during the positional grappling! Wha? I'm sure he let me set it up because he was testing to see if I would remember and do it.

I also felt pretty special at the end of class when some of my bros who were sitting there waiting for the advanced class to start began cheering me on when I was going for a triangle on my grappling partner. I switched to an armbar and tapped him, which to the best of my recollection is only the second time I've submitted someone at LBJJ! The first one was a straight armbar from mount a couple of weeks ago.

My husband told me that I need to stop whining about the changes in detail on some of the techniques at LBJJ, because I'm not really having to learn anything "new", I'm simply "polishing" the things I already know, and just like in any other martial art, I will be doing that for the rest of my life. I think that's especially true in Jiu-Jitsu, because it's constantly evolving.

There will never come a point in time when I'm done learning, and I'm actually enjoying the process tremendously right now, so it really doesn't get any better than this! I have the lack of pressure of being a white belt again, but I've come a long way since the first time I wore one. I am truly loving every minute of my training, whether I sub anyone or, like most of the time, I get subbed myself. My drive to improve at Jiu-Jitsu will never die.

"I'm not man or machine, I'm just something in between." -Loverboy

(Just Like) Starting Over

I went to Jiu-Jitsu class yesterday, and my knees aren't any worse for the wear, so after missing a week I'm back on track! That's a good thing, because I've realized that if I want to have any hope of not making a fool of myself at the upcoming blue belt test, then I'm going to need to train as much as I can. For me, changing styles of Jiu-Jitsu and training at a new school has involved more than just putting on a white belt until I can test, it really does feel like I'm starting over. Many of the things I've learned in the past have details added, or even changed, so that means not only do I have to learn new details, but I also have to "unlearn" some of the things I already know.

I think that anyone who has trained in two different styles of the same art, or even the same style at two separate schools, knows that sometimes there are different ways of doing the same thing. When people come into our Karate class at the dojo with prior knowledge of another style, they often have a harder time adjusting to the way we do things than the new students do. It's hard to fill a cup that's already full, so I guess I should be thankful that I made the Jiu-Jitsu switch while I still don't know very much!

I'm not just wearing a white belt, I am a white belt at LBJJ, and I honestly don't know if I will be ready to test for blue when the time comes. However, much of my previous knowledge does still apply, and every single day that I go to class now, my mistakes are being corrected, I'm learning something, and I can tell that I'm improving. All I can do is fully commit to the new path I've chosen, and keep putting in work. It's a lot easier to do when you know you're headed in the right direction, and of that I have no doubt.

Benched

Using the word "your":
You're doing it wrong.

I haven't been able to train since last Tuesday, because once again my knees have been giving me problems. I've had recurring issues with my knees since I started training Jiu-Jitsu, including a dislocated kneecap and relentless bursitis, but this is a new kind of pain, and it's affecting both knees. It mostly hurts when I try to drop it like a squat, or do any kind of knee bends (even simply sitting down), and I'm not sure what caused it.

One of the guys I train with, Josh, recently had surgery on his knee, and while he was recovering he wrote on his blog about experiencing "Jiu-Jitsu jealousy" over the fact that everyone's training was surpassing his while he was away. I'm also feeling jealous, but it's simply because I miss Jiu-Jitsu, and I don't like not being able to train, so I'm jealous of those who can.

After a week off, my knees are feeling a little better, so I think I'm going to attend class tonight and see how it goes. I don't believe it's a major injury, but more of a painful inconvenience, so I'm going to chance it. I really don't want to lose the momentum I've been gaining, so hopefully my knees will get with the program! It seems like I'm always taking two steps forward and one step back, but I'm not as concerned with "getting somewhere" as I am with just being able to keep walking. Sitting on the sidelines sucks!

Mom! Mom! Mom! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mama! Mama! Mama! Ma! Ma! Ma!...

One of my favorite "mother" stories comes from a friend who had her first child at a young age. As she was looking down at her newborn baby, she told the nurse that she wasn't sure if she was going to be a good mother. The nurse said "I know you're going to be a good mom, because bad moms don't worry about things like that." She now has four kids, and she's one of the best moms I know.

I wouldn't say that I'm good at many things, but one thing I know for sure is that I'm a good mom. After I had my daughter, I became a better person, and I discovered a whole new kind of love. All I ever really wanted was for her to be happy, but she has grown into someone I am proud of in every way.

I know how to be a good mother because my mom taught me how, like if there's four people but only three pieces of cake, you say "I don't want any, I never really liked cake." (even though you love cake, and you do want some!). My mom taught me that it's the little things that really matter. Listening when they need to talk, accepting them for who they are, and encouraging them to be the best they can be. Neither my mom nor I tried to be our kids' "friend" while they were growing up, and sometimes I didn't like my mom because of it, but now my mother and my daughter are two of my closest allies.

My mom also taught me that if your child loves something, you should be supportive, even if you don't fully understand. That's why I know so much about cosplay, even though I've never done it, and why my mom could probably kick your ass, even though she's never trained a day of martial arts in her life! ;)

 

Curious Ginger

Hey, hey, I'm a monkey, and people say I monkey around! I want to be a lion, or a tiger, or a bear (oh my!), but in the past few days, two of my Jiu-Jitsu bros have called me a monkey. I believe Josh's exact words were "Let go of me, you monkey!", and then last night at the Jiu-Jitsu party when Martínez was telling the story of our exhibition match at a tournament, he said "Seriously, she's a monkey!".

I believe it's due to the fact that instead of trying to hold someone down, I have a tendency to just attach myself, and move with them as they move. Amy says I do a good impression of a "leech" (especially when I have back mount), but I think I prefer "monkey" instead. I do not vant to suck your blood!

Now that Mr. Incredible has signed up to train at LBJJ, I can't wait to roll with him, because I know how much he hates monkeys! When he was serving overseas in the Marines, street vendors were selling monkey meat on a stick. He thought it was gross, and he would never eat it. Then after he discovered that the monkeys enjoying throwing their feces at him, he was like "Gimme some of that monkey meat!".

I guess being a monkey isn't so bad, although outside of Jiu-Jitsu my natural state is more that of a turtle. Actually, I do some of that in Jiu-Jitsu, too, especially when the crawling king snakes and daddy longlegs spiders come around!

With a Little Help from My Friends

One thing that has changed since the move to LBJJ is that more of my Jiu-Jitsu brothers seem to be watching when I'm rolling. Normally that would freak me out, because I don't like being watched, pretty much ever, but in this case they aren't just watching, they're coaching me, offering advice and encouragement. It's awesome!

I've also been getting more assistance on the mistakes I make while grappling, which has been very valuable to me. I feel as though I've been making a lot of the same mistakes for years, but I wasn't fully aware of it, or I didn't know how to fix it. Having someone pointing out my errors, and telling me how to correct them, has really been helpful, and I seem to be remembering the advice better than I used to.

After I got triangled by Patrick during king of the mat yesterday, Greg pulled me aside and was offering help on what I had done wrong. He said "Your posture was...", and I said "Terrible." He smiled and said "Well, I wasn't going to say that, but yes, it was terrible." I have no problem with constructive criticism!

Sometimes my mistakes are things I know I shouldn't do, yet when I'm grappling, I still do them. The more my errors get pointed out to me (both the ones I already know better than to do, and the ones I don't) the more aware I will be when I'm making them, and the sooner they will be corrected. I expect that I'm going to improve at a much faster rate than in the past!

It's Oh, So Quiet

Earlier this week when I was heading to class at LBJJ, I started driving to the dojo out of habit, and then today when I was going to Ethridge class at the dojo, I almost started driving to LBJJ! I also wore my white belt to class today, and when Amy and Joe told me I should be wearing my blue belt, I said I didn't train Roseberry's Jiu-Jitsu anymore, so I didn't think I should wear it. They were like "Dummy, this class is Roseberry's Jiu-Jitsu, and Shihan didn't take your belt away, did he?" Um, no. So, I guess for six days of the week I'm a BJJ white belt, and then on Sundays, I'm blue for a day.

It feels weird that Amy, Joe, and I are the only people in the dojo during Ethridge class now. I'm used to the no gi Jiu-Jitsu class taking place right before, but Shihan cancelled that class, so now we're the only ones there at that time. Class went about the same as usual today; Joe tried to submit me 101 times, and I escaped 98. If he ever figures out how to stop trying to armbar the wrong arm, I'm in big trouble.

I'm the only person who is training Jiu-Jitsu at both the dojo and LBJJ, and it feels a little odd, but good. Today during class, Joe would say things like "Shihan taught me this.", and then I would say "Greg taught me this." It's a little of both worlds. I told Joe that he should invite the remaining dojo Jiu-Jitsu students to come to our Ethridge class, so he would have more training partners (and so I can keep training with them!), but I don't know if that would be allowed. It's just oh, so quiet there now. Nothing but the sound of me tapping.

Hungry Like the Wolf

“Wanting something is not enough. You must hunger for it. Your motivation must be absolutely compelling in order to overcome the obstacles that will invariably come your way.” -Les Brown

Training at Lincoln Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Center has completely revived my passion for Jiu-Jitsu! Not that it ever went away, but it had faded, and now it's raging again. In a way it feels like a fresh start, and I'm embracing the opportunity with everything I have. I feel so comfortable there that I've been able to let go of some of my insecurities and just focus on my training. It really does feel like home, and I belong there.

Even though Greg did some teaching in the Jiu-Jitsu class at the dojo, the way he runs classes at LBJJ are a little different. For one thing, I believe after a couple more weeks I will have one rock-solid core! Also, I apparently have a weak neck, because the neck exercises are killing me. However, I like the physicality of it, and all of the changes in format, especially the stretching at the end of class, and that we bow in a circle. The later class times have been keeping me up at night, because I lay awake thinking about the things we worked on that day. Of course, that just means I've been learning, and I'm excited about it!

For some reason I'm really able to relax when I'm at LBJJ, which has made a big difference for me. I even rolled with Greg on Tuesday, and I didn't get all freaked out about it, like I normally would. Staying relaxed has also helped me maintain a much more positive attitude, and not become frustrated, which means I'm having a lot more fun. Today I got to work with one of my dojobros, King Patrick, for most of class, and I think I was smiling at least 80% of the time, even though a good portion of my body feels like a giant bruise! I guess when you're in a roomful of nothing but mat and people who are all loving Jiu-Jitsu as much as you, the joy is contagious.

"In touch with the ground, I'm on the hunt I'm after you..." -Duran Duran

LBJJ for the win!

Yesterday on Facebook, X-Guard had a contest to win a free custom rash guard for your instructor. I don't normally enter those kind of things, but since it was for Greg not myself, and since Ray tagged us and told us to go enter, I did, then I ended up winning! It surprised me because I never win anything (but maybe that's partly because I usually don't enter!).

After I won, Greg told me that he had trained at Tinguinha's with Jo-Jo, the guy who owns X-Guard. When I contacted Jo-Jo to give him Greg's info for the custom rash guard, he told me that he thinks Greg is a very gifted grappler...but that's nothing I didn't already know!

It's pretty exciting that I won for LBJJ, especially since we haven't even been open a week. We don't have a logo yet, so Greg said to tell them to just put "Lincoln Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Center" on the rash guard. He also said that whenever we do get a logo and a patch, I am going to get the very first one, in honor of winning the contest! I really have to give most of the credit to Ray, because I just did what he told me to.

It should be noted that Greg Lawson is a very humble guy, and he didn't want his name on the school, which is why he decided to just call it "Lincoln BJJ", but I think the fact that almost all of his students entered the contest to win the rash guard for him goes to show how we feel! We are all happy and proud to call him our instructor.

Mentor Mike

Awhile ago I wrote a post wondering if I should ask one of my fellow Jiu-Jitsu students to be my mentor (so I wouldn't have to just bug Conan all the time), but I didn't know if that was the right thing to do, because I thought those kind of relationships should develop naturally. I never did ask anyone, but the other day when I was in class at LBJJ, I realized that there is someone I train with who has filled that role. In a way it's kind of weird to call him my "mentor", because I am old enough to be his mother (and he's been training Jiu-Jitsu about a year less than I have), but Mike has definitely become someone I look up to, and he helps me a lot.

Since we are similar in size, we often end up working together, and he's really good at helping me figure out the whats, wheres, and whys. He understands what it's like for me as a smaller person, and he knows what will and will not work for us. His technical knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu far exceeds mine, and he is able to correct my mistakes, which most of the time I don't even realize I'm making.

Given a choice, I would choose Mike to be my partner every time, and the nice thing about it is that he doesn't seem to mind working with me, either. If you've ever rolled with him, or even watched him roll, then you understand why I look up to my little brother!