Jiu-jitsu is boring.

I would rather get submitted 90 times in 5 minutes then grapple someone who easily controls me and looks bored while they do it.  Truly.

It feels so shameful.  I'm not just bad, I'm boring.  Awesome.

I'm not beating myself up about it too bad though... I am a white belt and I bored a black belt.  I think that is pretty standard.  Oh well.  Sorry I am a bore.

In other news.... On a recent post about letting submissions go, I was given some really great advice.  When I have a submission, I should hold the position and wait for the person to do the inevitable freak out and capitalize on their mid freakout mistakes.  Not shockingly this works.  Well.

I have also vowed to go for and finish at least one submission per grapple, and with my new tactic, I have been largely successful against other white belts... Super failing with the higher belts, as expected but I am at least going for them now, which I think is a mark in the win department.  Even on the bored black belt... my submission attempt was swatted away as though it was a feeble half dead one winged fly... but hey, the attempt was there, and I tried as though I would have finished it... for the duration of the attempt... which was brief.  I am still viewing it as a win though.

A rare occasion...

Allie and I are often together... Normally sweat is involved.... if not sweat, children.  

Last night we threw caution to the wind and got together sans the sweat and children. 

We went to The Venue...  It was a ton of fun.  HUGE club with multiple floors, and three dance floors.  And while that is awesome, on a normal non-special even night like last night, one of the dance floors was barren the entire night, one had people intermittently, but the one on the patio was packed most of the night.  

Anyway...  it is a rare occasion where Allie and I are both in dresses and both wearing make up, so I had to share.  hehe

Why did you let that go?

I've probably said it 100 times before, but I suck at submissions for a multitude of reasons... and now I get to add another reason I suck at them to the list.

I let them go.

If I am with someone much better than I am (which is basically everyone), I assume I won't be able to finish them, and I let them go.  Fact of the matter is.... I will never finish a submission I let go.  Never.  

*I was grappling someone, and I went for a triangle, thought I didn't have it, so I moved on.  He said, "You had that." In passing and we kept moving.  Then later I was going for a rear naked, and let it go.  He stopped for a second that time and told me I had my arm under his chin, and I shouldn't have let it go.  Then it happened again, "Why did you let that go?"  

I let it all go because I know logically that the chances of my submitting that person were close to nil, and I A. Don't think I should waste time and energy on a submission I am not going to catch, and B. I feel like if I try to hard on a submission on a person I can't actually submit I will look presumptuous.... like I think I can submit them.  Which I know is retarded.  I SHOULD try... that is the whole point.

I will say though, I am getting over my apprehension of submissions in general.  I used to not like to do them for fear of upsetting the person I was submitting... but I think I am over that.  Last night I was attempting to choke someone, and I could see them turning purple, and vains starting to bulge, but they didn't look anywhere close to getting ready to tap.  Normally, I would let it go just to avoid making that person feel bad, or upset... but, I didn't last night.  It was a choke, so I was prepared to take it all the way to sleepy town if necessary.  I didn't have to go that far thankfully, and not shockingly the person did tap, and wasn't mad.  Life went on. 

*Anything I 'had' or attempted to 'have' was only possible because the person I was grappling came down to my level. 

Things not to confuse.

As I mentioned before I'm working my guard passes.

A few weeks ago someone showed me two guard passes.  One where you come in tight, and one that requires you to sprawl on top of the legs to pass.

All last night I was sprawling when I should have been coming in tight.

.... Sadly, my mistake wasn't clear to me until I was in the car, and I was trying to walk my self mentally through the details trying to figure out where I went wrong.

It went something like this...

...break the legs..
...trap the leg....
....elbow to the mat..
...swim the opposite leg...
...come in close to blo....  Ooooooh!  STUPID!

Simply thinking about it, I remembered the correct steps, but for whatever reason my body was not remembering while I was actually grappling.

All was not lost though.

I did still manage to pass most of the time though... just in a really ugly, non-technical, me-smash-me-pass kind of way I am sure.

Which made me happy because I had a move .... that I saw on Youtube... (LOL) that I wanted to try.  Generally, when someone says to me..."Hey can I try this move I saw on youtube on you real quick..."  I go in to the situation very hesitantly.  I will say though, that the person on the youtube video is a legit source so I don't feel bad about it.

It starts out from the scarf hold ... 

Oh wait, I mean this:

I watched it a few times, thinking I would remember it correctly... but I didn't.  I totally left out a major step in the transition.  And I mean, MAJOR step.  Not one of those turn your foot in left or right kind of things.  I mean, like an entire step.  Scarf hold - Knee on belly - Fancy maneuver - Take the back.  ... I forgot the entire knee on belly step.

I kept ending up in a position I am sometimes in after failed armbar attempts.

Hot Garbage!

Next week though!  I am a woman on a mission.

I need to find my inner dark place.

... apparently, there is a black belt hidden there.  Or so I am told.  LOL

Why do I need to find it you ask? ... I mean other than the obvious reasons. ....

Because I am going to compete again!

I am so so so so excited about it.

Fabio wants to get the whole team together again for a competition like we used to do, and I am so in.

I very much miss competing.

There are a few competitions coming up, and he is going to find out which one will work out for the most people... Probably the Miami Open in October, or the Orlando NAGA in December.

Look out lightweights... I am foolishly cutting down to 134, and I am coming for you!  Bwhahahahaha!

Ps.  I am highly caffeinated.