Drills

Sometimes I am convinced that our instructor makes us do drills with the soul purpose of us looking stupid for his amusement.  lol

Last night we did the dragon walk with someone, a full grown someone, on our backs.  A butterfly guard drill, where you get someone into your butterfly guard with double under hooks, lean back, extend your legs moving the person as far away as you can, put them back on the mat, then scoot into them... rinse and repeat all the way across the mat.  We also did a drill in which one person stands, and the other person jumps guard, and monkies them self under the arm, around to the back, under the other arm, and back to guard.  It is not only hard to do, but hard to have someone do to you.

I do actually understand the purpose of those drills, but still.  lol

It was a good night as far as rolls go too.  Well, kind of crappy for me but in a good way.

I rolled with both my instructors and my favorite person to grapple in that school.

My grapple with a fellow student was first.  He probably has about 20 pounds on me, is my hight and around my skill level, but he is VERY acrobatic, and just generally fun to grapple.  Last night I decided to try a few new things and they all went badly for me, but I had fun in the process.  I had him in North-South, a position  I don't normally do, and he scooted himself out a bit, and somehow managed to flip himself from his back clean over my head on to my back with both his hooks in, in one fluid motion.  I was so impressed I didn't care that he had my back.

I rolled with my instructor Mario after that.  Mario has always grappled me just above my skill level, keeping me on my toes and moving.  He lets me try things, but doesn't give them to me, and if I do something wrong, he will show me what it was I did wrong... the hard way.  hehe - That being said, Mario almost never goes for submissions with me unless I am doing something ultra wrong, in which case, I want to get submitted for it.  I learn best that way.  I love grappling Mario.

My last grapple of the night, was with my other instructor Ben.  Generally, Ben is the type of grappler who is more of a reactor versus trying to force things.  If you push, he goes with it instead of pushing back.  If you lean, he rolls you over.   My roll with him last night was much different though.  He kept me locked up the entire grapple, almost to the point of frustration.

He explained afterward the purpose of his grappling that way.  He wanted us to experience other types of grappling, and it was a very, very effective way of teaching us.  If he told us before hand the point wouldn't have been made as clearly.  Just like, when someone says, don't stick your neck out like that or you will get choked... versus choking me, and then telling me.  If you just tell me, you will probably have to tell me 10 times before I even think about remembering.

My grapple with Ben had several other bonuses too.  The main one being that NAGA is just around the corner, and in my past tournaments I have gotten locked up, and I desperately want to avoid that this time around.  So, working to get out from under a large male brown belt (who wasn't even going anywhere near 100%) was a great way to prepare for getting out from under a 135 pound white belt female.  It was also AWESOME cardio, and I need that too if I want to be grappling 135 pound girls in 2.5 weeks.

He seemed to feel bad about having grappled us that way, but I understand why he did what he did, and I am glad he did it.  Thanks Ben!