Deborah's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & Arnis-Eskrima Training

What a crazy week. I did not attend open mat this past Monday night, as my sister and nephew flew into town Monday afternoon.  And by the way, in case anyone out there thinks their kid is cutest ever, they aren't, because my nephew is THE cutest kid EVER. In lieu of open mat, I did hill repeats and push ups as follows:  2 repeats, 10 push-ups, 2 repeats, 10 push-ups, 1 repeat, 10 push-ups, then two minute rest.  I repeated this entire sequence one time.  Short, sweet, and to the point. Tuesday morning I went to class, which was good despite getting popped in the nose and torquing my ankle against a wall.    We worked on throws and take-downs, and one of my sparring partners swung his elbow across the front of my face, which unfortunately met with the bridge of my nose.  Bloody nose.  Excellent!  Tuesday night I  went to Bikram yoga and sweated out the demons. Wednesday night, rather Wednesday afternoon, I received a call from my Dad to tell me my grandmother had a stroke an

Ahhhhh, a quiet Sunday night.  Well, not exactly, I am blasting Samba music right now.  Love me some Samba..... I had a good training week, and by good, I mean there were  highs and lows,  a moment of angst under the weight of a crushed spirit, only to be deflected by my resilience. My last post was...Tuesday night.  Monday open mat and Tuesday's morning class were okay, nothing spectacular, but I got in there, rolled hard, and left it on the mat.  Went to Bikram yoga Tuesday afternoon.  A double dip! Then Wednesday night...  I got off work at 4, so I did a KB workout before heading to class.  I did 3 sets of: one-armed swings, 20 reps on each side, 10 snatches on each side, and 5 windmills on each side. I went to class, which started at 6.  I knew I was in trouble when I felt I was working waaayyy to hard during the warm-up.  Rolling immediately after a KB workout is a new challenge for me, so I expected a certain amount of pushing. We worked on offensive moves from side

The last two days have yielded good training.  Last night I went to open mat.  I warmed up with one of the youngsters from the kids class,  (which was still going on when I arrived at the school).  The instructor gave me permission to step on the mat early.  My next roll was with another member of the kids class who is green belt, but who also outweighs me by about 50 pounds.   I rolled for an hour and a half with four different people, one of whom was my instructor, which I always consider an honor. I take the invitation to roll with him as an opportunity to shine, make mistakes, and push through walls.   I have been working on putting my opponent into a triangle at the very start of the match.  I grab my opponent's sleeves, place my right foot into the their left shoulder, and my left foot onto their right hip, while keeping by body on my left side.  When performed correctly, this part of the move immobilizes my opponent, and creates a "push-pull" tension that cru

I usually take Sunday off, but since I had the creeping crud this week, I decided to work out today.  So, here it is: 10 sets of squats X 20 reps. 10 sets of push-ups X 10 reps. I did the 20 squats, and then immediately switched to the 10 push-ups.  I did not do this section of the work-out for time, but my goal was to work past the fatigue and knock out the reps as quickly as possible (no rest!).  This body weight workout is challenging and can be done anywhere.  Push-ups have been, are, will always be, an exercise I have to work at.  My legs are wonderfully strong, but my arms need some prodding.  Alternating between these two exercises ensures I do a good amount of reps using strong form without rest, but I am forced to push through the walls of muscle fatigue.     Next section of the workout, I used my 8kg kettel bell for: 4 sets of one-armed swings, 20 on each side. 4 sets of turkish get-ups, 5 on each side. I did the turkish get-up using a form specific to Brazilian J

I have been on the damn couch for the past day and a half with some hideous flu nonsense.  I was going to train Wednesday night, but by the time I was off work I felt so crappy I went straight home.  My husband took my temperature, which was 101.  Oh GOODY.   Off to bed early.  Stayed home from work...   This has put me in a sour mood, as I started work in a new division this week and I wanted to go in gangbusters, but instead I am the resident problem child.  Also, I don't like to not train.  However, I am still early in the training for the Pan Ams, so it's prudent to rest for a couple of days.  I know I have an internal "reserve" that may be tapped into with the assistance of ibuprofen, (ie- if I got sick on a competition day), but for now, rest is best. On a happier note, I am feeling semi-human today.  My fever has broke.  I am hungry. So, back in the saddle I go.    

Nothing to report today. Tomorrow is my first day in a new division at work, so the next couple of weeks will be spent ironing out a workout schedule that allows for sufficient training/rest balance. I have to be at work one hour earlier than at my old division, but my mat training time at night will stay the same. This is a significant change, as I have been running in the morning before work. Soooo, my immediate plan is to run my usual two miles tomorrow morning, and then time how quickly I can jet to work and get ready. A mild work in progress but completely do-able. This family/work/training balance is always a challenge. In order to compete at a higher level, one must make the competition a priority. No debate. My husband and I do not have children (by choice), so the time commitment is not an issue in our house. But darn, work has a way of cutting into training time. Not an issue if I only competed in smaller tournaments, but once you step it up to the international le

Greetings. My name, for the purposes of this blog is Dagney Taggert. The slight misspelling of the name is on purpose (sort of). When I started using this as a screen name many years ago, the correct spelling was often being used, so I changed it slightly. I have been practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) for 5 years, and I hold the rank of purple belt. For those who are not familiar with BJJ, it is a ground fighting martial art, often referred to as "grappling." I will discuss the history more in depth in a future post. I have competed in large tournaments, such as the the Pan Ams and Worlds (gi and no-gi), and smaller tournaments such as the California Classic in Riverside. My reason for this blog? Well..... Many years ago in my salad days, I ran a few marathons, started hiking, and became an all around movement obsessed person. I rejoice in the challenge of pushing past the door of the envelope, of kicking my walls down, only to look back on them my with my eyes squ