50% Attendance: Week 2 of Jiu-Jitsu

Survived my second week as a BJJ newbie, though with an imperfect record of performance. Once I turned up, I got to roll with the instructor.

Lesson 3: Work Got in the Way

1. The Regional Youth Council of Uusimaa had a meeting Tuesday evening, and I was their secretary. The meeting went very well and many good ideas were brought forward. So many in fact, that when the council finished at 7:15 pm, there was no way I was able to make the journey to the gym to attend jiu-jitsu. The fact that I felt sad for missing a class actually made me happy. To me, it meant that I might just have found my sport.
2. The next day was our office’s Team Building Day, part of which was spent at Rush Trampolining Park. Jumping about on the different mats felt brilliant, and at least I got to take the exercise I lost from missing BJJ.

Lesson 4: Remember the Brackets

1. I was so glad to be back at class. Still can’t do technical stand-ups. Must find out which muscles I should train for that.
2. I learned to fall on one knee without putting the other one on the ground. This is apparently important for a takedown we will be taught later.
3. There was a uneven number of students today. Unsurprisingly, everyone else paired up in a flash, so I ended training a lot with the supportive instructor. I think it was beneficial, even though he had to correct me all the time. I’m not the most coordinated individual, so got to hear a lot of “No, I said left”, which was fine.
4. Later I did roll with my training partners. The difference of drilling the same moves with my experienced instructor was miles away from two beginners going at it. I can’t wait to roll with more people who are better than me.
5. An elbow pushing on your stomach hurts. “I guess that when something feels bad in BJJ, you should do something that makes it stop feeling bad”, I puffed sagely. “With that attitude, you’ll go far”, my instructor said and patted me on the shoulder. I was moderately pleased.
6. We trained escapes. “If you remember just one thing from these, remember the frame of your arms.” I’ll try.
7. The instructor showing takedowns on of the students looked dang impressive.

Afterwards, I toddled home in my green trainers. Next week, I’ll 1) attend both classes 2) be in town for the Jyväskylä national championships in BJJ. Well, actually I’m there for work stuff, but might get the chance to sneak in for a short while. Yey!