Friday October 8, 2010

I took a couple, well three, weeks off for house remodeling.  New skylights (yeah! no rain in the house!), new windows, and a front yard that is a beautiful rock garden fire break (dry weather+dry brush=bad). Each day of digging dirt and rock was followed by well deserved beers at the new pub that has opened down the street from our house.  Yes. Down. The. Street.  The beer is good.  The food is good.  Dagney is happy.

But the brass tacks of the mat call!

I had a good roll Wednesday morning.  We worked on base.  Base while standing.  In your opponent's guard.  The focus of the work was the hips; harnessing the immense power and stability that lives in the core.  I love concentrating on these details because they are such miniscule unseen diamonds that, once discovered, utterly transform your game from a crazed maniacal mess to an elegant waltz.  The brilliance of jiu jitsu lies in the invisible.  I received a fun compliment from one of my sparring partners, Nick; when I started to get him in side control (my everyday purse) he scrambled, "no no no NO...! I don't want to be in your side control."  I smiled.  My work schedule just changed, so I get to roll on Saturday mornings again, always the most fun and most crowded class of the week.

In other related news, my SISTER has taken up jiu jitsu!  She lives in LA and is practicing at the Gracie Academy in Torrance.  I am so excited for her.  Listening to her new kid on the block stories is so invigorating!  It reminds me of how far I have travelled, but it has also helped push me forward out of the up and down slump I have allowed myself to be snarled in this year.  weird year.  She is going to visit next week so we can roll together.  My poor parents with these two wrasslin' ladies for daughters.

Speaking of the travelled road, I encourage you all to read Georgette's blog post this week about entering her third year of jiu jitsu.  Georgette is nothing short of terrific and humorous.

Train well.

Dag

Comments

  1. slideyfootOctober 13, 2010 at 12:04 PM

    Ah, now I remember why your blog isn't in my Google Reader: couldn't get the feed to work. Do you have it enabled, or some random internet glitch?

    Should be interesting hearing how your sister's experiences differ from your own, if she's training in Torrance rather than a Gracie Barra. Although then again, wouldn't be surprising if Fabio was relatively traditional, given that he's been in the sport a long time?

    ReplyDelete

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