Deborah's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & Arnis-Eskrima Training

I am feeling rather naked after my last post.  Not vulnerable.  I mean, I wish it was only vulnerable.  The term "stripped down" comes to mind. okay well anyway. I wrote about having to dig deep in my last post.  Ha!  Deep is an understatement.  I need to drill way down below Mariana's Trench.  Those physical requirements?  They need to be performed under fatigued circumstances.  It's not good enough to be able to knock out a slew of pull-ups.  I need to knock them out after all the other stuff.  The academy has not been announced yet, so I might have four months to prepare or I might have one year.   So I have shovels in both hands.  I have been on this road two weeks now and have already seen edges of improvement in my strength.  My husband, bless him, helped me out with pull-ups the other day.  At the end of the workout I actually cried, which is something I had not experienced since starting BJJ.  T...

So so sorry for the slight absence. Rest assured it's not because I have not been training, quite the opposite in fact. I am now training like the dickens. More on that later. I have decided to reveal a few specifics about myself, as I have just embarked on an..adventure, yes adventure, at work. An adventure I want to document well. Writing about this will also give my husband a short burst of a break from the being the sole person who listens to me go on and on and on and on about it; additionally I will not be able to be honest in my writing unless you know the details. So, I have hinted around that I work in law enforcement. I do. I am a police officer in San Diego. I am in patrol in a busy command in a busy area. I love it. The greatest part of police work? Well, it beats working for a living! I get to drive around, meet fascinating characters, do fascinating things, and occasionally (forgive the cliche') scratch out a positive influence into the world. ...

Hey Decades, I'll trade you my sinus infection for your Birkin... DECADES INC.: NEWS FLASH... Just arrived! Hermes Birkin 40 cm : This gorgeous Birkin in Clemence leather in Blue Abysse with gold hardware just showed up on the doorstep of Decades. Another abandon orphan...

Ugh...not training this week due to a very annoying sinus infection. The weather in San Diego behaves like a fickle mistress.  During the last 3 weeks, we have literally had days that reached into the high 80's, only to be followed up by evenings that dropped into the low 40's.  Combine this wide degree spread with a tantrum tug-of-war between dry weather and wet weather and you have sinus hell. This week however, all the moisture seems to have been sucked away by the bone dry wind.  So now I have a sinus infection.  I'll be at the sink with my Neti Pot. Dag

I learned two new guard passes this week that are unusual and sneaky. #1:  When you are in guard, grab your opponents belt or place your hands on her abdomen.  Mind your elbows!  Do not get lazy and let them face out, keep those joints faced toward your own body.  Jump to both of your feet.  Jump with commitment!  Squeeze your butt and hips,  keep your head up, and keep your shoulders straight and strong for solid posture.  Press your hands into your opponents abdomen to break their guard.  Stand up and grab their pants around the knee area.  Step through your opponent's legs with your right leg to the right side of their torso.   The next part requires attention be paid to your posture, timing, and balance.  Keep grips on both pant legs.  Kick your left left leg up and swing it over your opponent's right leg, using your grip to push their leg down as you kick over it.  Quickly bend your right leg to knee on be...

This is a wonderful Paleo recipe for Stuffed Bell Peppers.  I found it in a book, but I have gave it my own twist. 8 Bell Peppers 2 pounds lean ground beef or any other lean ground protein source 1/2 of one large Maui onion 1/2 of one large Sweet potato 1 tablespoon chopped garlic Chipotle chile powder (or any other spice you like! Curry?) to taste 2 tablespoons Olive oil Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the Sweet potato until soft enough to smash easily with your hands. (I usually keep a few pre-baked on hand) Cut the tops off of the Bell peppers and remove the seeds.  A grapefruit spoon works well for this. Save the tops. Rub the outside of the Bell peppers with Olive oil and place in a casserole dish or other cooking pan. Saute the onion (I like to saute them in a tiny bit of Olive oil) until soft and clear. Combine the ground beef, Sweet potato, chopped garlic, Chipotle powder, and cooked onion in a large bowl. Mix and knead the meat mixture together ...

I have a free hour before I need to pretty up for work so I thought I would throw some thoughts out there. I recently purchased two pairs of board shorts for practice, and one for competition, and I need to give you all short chronicle of the hilarity that ensues when shopping for women's apparel. I walked into Hanger 94 in La Mesa (here in SD County), which is an outdoor/ski/surf/etc warehouse store.  The perfect place to find WOMEN'S apparel right? I walked over to their women's department.  I kid you not, they had , FIVE, five, pairs of board shorts.  Because...?  why?  why only five?  And one pair in my size.  Despite the fact I am down to a lean machine 135-138, the size 8 board shorts were as usual, tooooo tight in the hips and butt, and literally 3-4 inches too big in the waist.  To add insult to injury, even if they fit perefctly, these shorts were teeeeny tiny short, like I would be laughed off the mat teeny tiny.  The who...