Friday, July 26, 2013

July 25th 2013 - No-Gi (Keepin It Real)

We had some drama at the beginning of class.  The women's dressing room became inadvertently locked with Gina's gear inside. It took the power ingenuity of Bauer who had left after the gi class and returned for his water bottle.  He went and got a hammer and a crow bar and they eventually got the door open.  Before it was all said and done Tinguinha finally arrived, we all introduced ourselves and he watched the remainder of the class.  From there on out I was checking where he was and who he was watching.  Seeing if the expression on his face showed positive emotion. 

We did two techniques from butterfly guard; Adam, Jerad, and I partnered up.  The first was the sweep using an overhook.  It wasn't too difficult as long as you didn't let them base their hand out.  Which is why the second technique was a guillotine if they prevented the sweep by basing out.  Greg came by and gave me some pointers on wrist and arm position. 

King of the mat followed starting from butterfly.  I actually wasn't able to pass anyone but had some great attempts.  Conan vs Adam and Mike vs Greg were a few of the epic battles.  I felt like I did pretty well against Greg or he was just taking it easy on me, either way I'll take it.

We free rolled for a couple of rounds after that.  I started with Patrick and felt great about my performance.  I really focused on butterfly guard and omaplata sweep and then passing.  Jerad was my second partner and my ego got crushed.  My guard seemed defenseless and as soon as he passed it took me forever to get out of side control.  When I did he got me with a triangle.

I spoke with Tinguinha a little bit and he was very happy with the skill level of the class and wondered why we were all white belts.  A very good sign.  Conan joined into the conversation and we talked a little bit about our history and how we came to this point.  He seems like a really cool, laid back, guy.  Pretty much how Greg described.

After class I was talking to Conan about being a little nervous leading up to class.  I had some butterflies in anticipation of meeting Tinguinha.  It was the same feeling I get before a tournament.  Conan made the comment "That's what I like about you, Josh, you're real."  I was a little taken aback, and my response was "Thanks, I don't know how to be any other way."  It was a great complement but of course it got my brain working.  I know this blog probably seems boring at times or too technical but my main purpose is to share my experience and to help solidify the lessons by having to recall them as I write the blog.  I think it has helped me express myself more and made me contemplate my journey at a deeper level.  I'm probably a little more honest about myself since there's no way I could lie while writing this, there's too many people I train with that read it.

I've definitely had some issues with how truthful I should be, what should be shared, and what should be left out.  I've strayed away from reporting the people that I've submitted.  I don't want to shame anyone or cause any real drama.  Although there are a few people that are exempt and I will gladly share when I finally submit them.  You know who you are.

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