It's been while

Most of my friends and those who followed me on myspace know that I do training on fighting techniques and hand to hand killing including (BBJ). 

Since few weeks I haven't showed up there, and didn't feel like it.   

I finally returned after. That is the longest voluntary lay-off I've had since I began. I can’t explain it well, but I just lost motivation to train. I know people who follow the blog will probably say, “I’d probably lose motivation too if I had been slammed on my face and knocked out like I had from the people close to my heart the most.” However, that wasn’t the reason. At least it wasn’t a conscious reason.

Even though I don’t work voluntarily and had ample time available, I found it harder and harder to go to BBJ class. On some occasions I began wrestling with my psyche the night before to cajole and convince myself I needed to go. So I just decided to wait until I returned to work.

When I arrived I stretched a bit and Al'a invited me to join his group to work on the technique they were reviewing. The first technique was a side control escape which led to guard and the second was a side control escape which led to a reversal and sweep.

After this we rolled. I first rolled with Art. Art is another guy who trains 5 times a week and each time I roll with him his skill level has just about doubled. He played butterfly guard and has picked up the technique of disrupting your balance (when your on your knees) by using his foot to push your knee from under you. We rolled to a stalemate and traded positions back and forth, but once I was able to mount him by jumping over his butterfly guard from a kneeling position. He topped that by sending me airborne with some sort of bridge.


After that, Carlos (brown belt instructor), had us go through some competition rounds.
I was paired up with a guy who was a former wrestler and coach. He is not that tall (5′6 or 7) but he weighs 216 pounds. I baited him with my Judo stance, which is naturally upright, and when he went for the shot I sprawled and was able to jump on to his back. He was extremely hard to control and when I tried to sink in a rear naked choke I couldn't because he doesn't have a neck (that’s visible). I find a lot of the wrestling guys hard to choke this way. He powered his way out of my back control and he ended up in my guard. I was able to reverse him but when I landed on top he was breathing so hard I had to ask him if he was okay. He shook his head no and tapped out.

Finally, I rolled with Malik. I think Malik trains more MMA than BJJ and I also think he has a wrestling background. He is about 6ft, at least 215 and has a body builders build. I adopted my upright stance and Carlos told me I was “too high.” When Malik went for the shot I sprawled and was able to jump on his back. I couldn’t sink in my hooks because he shucked me off. I felt like a Professional Bull Rider on Versus. We both stood up and repeated the same scenario. After that I stayed on my knees and when he stood up I ankled picked him with one hand and pushed him down with the other. From there we went back and forth but he ended up outpointing me. He is very good at transitioning from side control to mount.