It is hard to train over the holidays.

Class schedules may be different at your school, class attendance can be inconsistent (especially if you live a college town), and finding time to get yourself the the gym can be a challenge – especially when you have the misfortune of working some between Christmas and the New Year.

I was able to train some this holiday season (I’m defining “holiday season” as a few days before Christmas to New Year’s) but I wish I was able to train more. For reasons previously mentioned, however, it has been a bit tough.

Which is why today was such an epic day. My gym’s schedule is back to “normal” and I got a some great training in. Everyone is pumped to train and it will be much easier to train regularly once again.

The holidays can be a nice break, but some things you don’t always want a break from.

Yesterday I competed in my first Jiu Jitsu tournament – the 4th U.S. National Cup, put on the by the Rocky Mountain Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation. In addition to fighting, I got to meet Cris Cyborg. Mixed-martial artist Cameron Dollar was also on hand, as was the legend himself, Relson Gracie.

My take on it?

It was awesome, even though it didn’t go my way. The loss of my match in this single elimination tournament left me with much to  think about and digest.

The fight was awesome; intense and resolute. I loved it. Still, I’ll be “haunted” – and I hope that adjective is not too dramatic to explain how I feel – by things I wish I had done differently.

But that is the point, isn’t it?

Part of the appeal of tournaments – especially your first ones – is that a main objective is to simply “learn how to compete”, rather than to win.  A coach explained this to me at the tournament. By the way, the Relson Gracie Colorado coaching staff was (and is) great. Thanks, Van and Jason.

While reflecting on my tournament, I feel myself getting pumped up. So much to build on from this experience, so much to learn, so much to accomplish…

Damn, I can’t wait for class tomorrow.

I was recently thinking about the different people I have rolled with at this point in my Jiu Jitsu career and the characteristics of a good rolling partner. On the one hand, the answer I came up with is “it depends” – it depends on (your) mood, what you and your partner are looking to get from the session, energy levels, etc.

On the other hand, there does seem to be some things common to good sparring partners.

Desire To Learn (Not Just About Winning)

Winning is always fun, but for rolling, it’s not always the goal. We all have fights with high intensity where both participants want to win – badly. These fights can be fun and invigorating. It is one of the things I love about the martial art.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathaninsandiego/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

But there is a collection of moves that are good for winning but are more appropriate for tournaments or the street. Two examples of these kinds of moves are putting pressure on someone’s nose to set up a rear-naked choke and covering an opponent’s nose and mouth with an available hand to try to force someone to move.

I often enjoy myself the most when my sparring partner and I are both trying to learn or apply new moves, when trying to win at an agreed or implied intensity. In these sessions I often learn new techniques and improve the context of moves I already know. This is a huge part of my training: when I am complimented on my progress by other students, I’ll normally tell them it is greatly because of them – because of training, practicing, and rolling with them.

Being Relaxed

“Tweaking out” seems to be endemic to most people brand new to any type of grappling. I was guilty of this when I first started Jiu Jitsu. I have obviously moved on, but I think we have all experienced this in a sparring partner: you are rolling with a (likely new) Jiu Jitsu student, and he/she is wiry and excitable.

A good sparring partner is typically relaxed because they are comfortable. In contrast to “tweaking out”, their movements are under control, even though they may not know what to do next (should I try to escape? should I go for a kimura?), it is mostly intentional. Unintentional, spazmatic movements can be unsafe, which bring me to the next item that makes a good rolling partner.

An Appreciation Of Safety

While being a “spaz” certainly makes for less safe sparring session for both participants, so does trying specific holds or submissions without proper training. I am referring to moves such as ankle locks, knee bars, and wrist locks. The odds of injury are greater if you aren’t trained in them. At my school, people are usually cleared to do these moves at some point after white belt (typically blue, I believe).

Personally, I don’t mind when I am put into one of these positions by someone who knows what they are doing, such as a teacher or an advanced student. I do get concerned, however, when someone puts me in ankle lock without the context or training they should have before trying the move. It is not safe and probably not a good idea. Just like anyone else, I don’t want to get injured.

Last night 46-year-old Randy Couture fought Minotauro Nogueira in UFC 102. After three full rounds Couture lost to an unanimous decision. Nogueira won the match – and while some moments were closer than others, I think anyone would be hard pressed to disagree with the decision.

I am writing this because I wanted to give a shout out to Couture. Couture was defeated, but he didn’t really lose. I felt Couture showed remarkable heart and toughness. He kept pressing on, escaped some perilous dominant positions against a bigger, exceptional grappler, and fought hard.

Despite the loss for Couture, this is the type of match that made me feel good and inspired. Everyone is familiar with Grantland Rice’s famous quote:

“It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.”

For Couture VS. Nogueira, it’s the spirit of this saying that is most relevant here: the idea that when anyone competes with genuine effort and heart – they are likely to come out a winner of some sort, regardless of the outcome of the match.

Congratulations to Nogueira for a good victory – and congratulations to Couture for giving a great, authentic effort and a good fight.

I need my sleep. For one reason or another I have betrayed my body over and over again and  neglected to get enough sleep this week. Yesterday the reality of how sleep deprivation effects my performance in Jiu Jitsu become clear to me. Yesterday’s class was a good class – but it took considerable effort to get enough from it because I was so tired. Here is why.

First, it was hard to retain information and execute new techniques without extra concentration. The amount of time it took learn something was longer than normal. It was also easy to forget specific details – such as the position of a foot or a type of grip.

Second, being tired does things to your overall confidence – even if not on a conscious level. Break falls, for example, seemed hard to execute properly. I also had hesitations to be thrown. Not helpful, obviously, to learning and growing your technique – or your partner’s.

Third, being so tired made for poor decisions when rolling. In three consecutive roll sessions I tried to pull guard – but ended up defending side control. Being impatient and unwise made for a poor (and mostly painful) day in rolling.

Tomorrow is Saturday, thankfully – and when I wake up late tomorrow morning and finally well rested, I should  think about how I can get more sleep on a regular basis. If I don’t there is no guarantee I won’t make the same sleeping mistakes I made this week. Training in Jiu Jitsu – and many other things – is just too important to interfere with.

pic credit(s): http://www.flickr.com/photos/54288707@N00/94341457/

I’m at a point in my training when I would like to get more taps. At tap-out here, a tap-out here – nothing revolutionary or dominant – but I’m consistently doing the vast majority of tapping whenever I roll. Still, I believe I’m progressing in-tune with the average student. I have learned so much in my training. It has been amazing.

I’m an analytical, thoughtful person. Because of this I have stepped back and taken high-level look at some ways I may be more successful when I roll.

When I talk with and learn from classmates and teachers, and take a high level look at everything that is said, there almost seems to be a “Jiu Jitsu Chi” – that if followed – leads to tap-outs. This “chi” seems to the combination of technique, timing (which may be part of technique), position (which also seems to be part of technique), patience… okay, so I guess it really does seem to boil down to technique.

This notion of of “Jiu Jitsu Chi” is only tongue-in-cheek. I don’t really think “Jiu Jitsu Chi” exists, but it does seem at this point in my training that technique is just about everything. Maybe we can call “Jiu Jitsu Chi” the successful application of technique.

I can analyze all I want, however, but it seems the key to winning is time on on the mats – after which winning will come more naturally. Via Aesopian:

How to get good isn’t a big secret. Get on the mats, get good instruction and do conditioning, drilling or sparring. Gameplans, flow charts, notebooks, journals and instructionals are gravy. Training is the meat and potatoes.

pic credit(s): http://www.flickr.com/photos/parrhesiastes/816843976/

I had the opportunity Today to help paint the new space for my dojo where I train – Boulder Grappling Academy. It was also my first look at the new space.

The new space is great – it is roomy and the location is excellent. I certainly expect the location to help the school grow. Here is picture I took of the space as we worked on it.

One of the cool things about the space and the school having its own location – is that it will be the only Brazilian-centered martial arts school in Colorado due to its relationship with Grupo Cafu Capoeira Colorado, which is led by Leomar Mendez, who is also a student of Boulder Grappling Academy.

These are exciting times for the Dojo and I’m grateful to be student there during a time of such change and growth.