A Good First Night Of Rolling

I had a wickedly good night of rolling. I say “wickedly” for Seth, who thinks only New Englanders use that term. Now he knows Floridians do as well.

Anyway, like I said, it was a good rolling night. I’m liking this new school. There’s so much challenge with each and every person I spar with – it’s really a Jiu-Jitsu guy’s dream. As you may already know if you’re into this game as well, the longer you train with a group of people, the more of a tendency there is to get used to what they have to offer. Up at Jeff’s, this would happen every so often, but we were friends with so many other academies, we could easily quench our thirst for variety by simply driving a few miles. Rich and Jason up at Bushido would give me a run for my money. A frustrating run too. I remember the last time I rolled with those guys – a whole lot of wall hitting. It was like whatever I tried to do…nothing.

For the first part of tonight’s class, we went over the Loop (guard? sweep? – please correct me here). I can’t remember the exact name, but I’ve been doing one variation of these for a while. There is another variation I have never tried though that’s pretty awesome. I see myself using that one (the reverse Loop guard?) for a shoulder lock. It’s fairly serious. I believe there were four techniques in total that we went over – all in the same family and all easily intertwined with one another. You know, if one fails, try another, back to the first, then to the third. They’re all good.

For the second part of class, we rolled and we rolled hard. I really like going at it. I dig the competition atmosphere and when I’m asked to help a guy train who’s going to compete soon, it’s like a green light for me to open up my game. The only thing is, I’m usually asked after I’m whooped. But I suppose that’s good for me because I’m only bound to benefit from the added stress.

There are a few guys who are already my favorites to roll with. First and foremost, there’s Kevin, who’s going to be asked, ever so politely, one of these days, to teach me everything he knows. He’s the kind of guy who can slowly kick your butt. It’s like, “Umm, I know what’s happening, but I fail to see a way to stop it.” Fun game and really fun to spar with.

Another guy who’s frustratingly good is Carlos. I say frustrating, because there seems to be very few openings in his game. Watching and feeling him roll is like watching Guilherme and Rafael Mendes roll. He’s extremely tight and his grips are something that’s new to me. I don’t quite know what to do with them – yet. Awesome partner.

I rolled with a blue belt this evening as well. I forget his name because I’ve met quite a few people over the past few days. He’s a good build though and his game is really fast. I had a good time checking out his game and would like to more in the future.

We traded off quite a bit, so I had a chance to experience a lot of guys. By the end of class, I was pretty much done. As I sit here and type, I’m starting to think my body is going to hurt in the morning. Is it normal to look forward to that? I’d say, at this age, it’s all good.

Can’t wait for Thursday’s class. I’m only going to be doing this twice a week because of the distance, unless someone can fly me up there. I’d like to go every day, but unfortunately, that’s not possible.

Till next time.