Deborah's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & Arnis-Eskrima Training

I went to BJJ this morning.  We worked on one takedown and one escape. The takedown involved holding my opponent's sleeve, and collar.  Then, while still holding the collar, I shot my body down to my opponent's leg (same leg as the side of the collar being held),  wrapped my arm around his leg and grabbed my own collar.  At this this point, my opponent was already quite off-balance, I didn't realize just how much until my sparring partner took me down with the move.  The last part of the technique was a solid drive forward until my opponent was on his back. Our second technique started from the turtle, with my opponent sprawled on my back, and his arms around my waist.  I trapped one arm, then stepped out, and laid on my opponent's chest.  A few details:  I trapped my opponent's left arm with my right arm.  I laid out of the turtle by rolling toward my right side, and stepping out of the turtle with my right hip and leg.  My opponent...

Happy Valentine's Day.  My husband is mad at me and it is my fault.  Oh the joy of the imperfection. I have not posted much this week due to a combination of sore hands and early bed times.  Tuesday morning I went to BJJ, then Bikram in the afternoon.  A good day of training. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night I went to BJJ.  Wednesday deserves special mention because I went in early to catch one hour of rolling with the kid's class.  I rolled a couple of rounds with this young man who is 15, but extremely quick and very talented in the art.  Then I stayed for the two hour adult class, which means I rolled for THREE hours.  Wednesday was a good night, as I rolled hard and pushed myself to be attacking aggressively during each match.  My wind capacity is usually top notch, but I quickly discovered a hole in my fitness, that I tend to slow down my attack throughout a match.  This situation is being remedied. Thursday I did a short...

Short post today, as the tendons in my hands are unwell due to my current obsession with the triangle position.  The excessive typing bothers just a tad. I will say, I had an excellent week of training.

Oh I am draaaaiiiinnned. I mentioned the other day my grandmother had a stroke and that my sister just flew into town.  The last three days have been a whirlwind of jetting here and there, LA to help sis look for a house (her husband is being transferred to LA), the hospital to see grandma, then the new rehab center where she will be staying for a couple of weeks; and bolstering my parents who have been in a trench warfare battle with the hospital. No work outs for now, just a moment on the couch.

Yesterday I forgot to mention that I made an inch or two of progress in Bikram with the Full Locust pose.  To practice Full Locust, you lay on your stomach with your arms straight and underneath your body, palms facing down.  This feels extremely awkward at first.  Once you are in the correct starting position, you lock your knees straight, keep your legs together, point your toes, and then lift your legs off the ground, using the strength in your lower back and arms to lift your legs. When I started Bikram a few weeks ago, I was not able to practice this pose at all, and yesterday I lifted my legs off the ground a few inches.  I was ecstatic.  I recommend Bikram for my fellow athletes in their 40's.  I have noticed a marked decrease in my muscle soreness and fatigue since I started supplementing BJJ with Bikram. Tonight I also want to share one of my eccentric training diet gems: Apple Cider Vinegar.  Not the cheap stuff, but the good raw, organic...

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 ...

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...