Jorge Pereira Seminar and Dalla’s Grand Opening

A ton of people showed up for the seminar and grand opening last Saturday, and I’m betting it was for two reasons – 1) to learn from a sixth degree black belt with a ton of experience and stories to tell and 2) to see exactly where it was Dalla learned it all. You know, the boa constrictor type rolling, the dirty moves (chin in the ribs, cheese grater across the face, tickling for crying out loud….) and all the non-dirty but totally slick and sneaky moves that make you wonder – while you’re tapping furiously – what the hell just hit you.

 

How many purple belts does it take to hang a Brazilian flag?

Well, now it all makes sense. Jorge Pereira is not only a great instructor (also where Dalla learned it, I’m sure) but he’s enthusiastic in a non-H1N1 infectious sort of way. In other words, it’s easy to catch his enthusiasm, but you don’t feel crappy about it once you do. He showed a lot of moves from various positions, include a couple self defense moves. One in particular, an entry into an Americana, was so sneaky and under the radar that the group let out a collective “Oooh…” when he first demonstrated it. Now that’s my kind of move.

The seminar ended, as I had hoped, with a bunch of stories about his training with Rickson and Helio and other members of the BJJ elite in Brazil, and then, jackpot! Stories about Dalla, including his nickname. I won’t mention it here because Dalla’s still mad at me for posting our swim race online. You know, the one where I beat him.

Dalla’s grand opening of his new location followed, with a lot of people hanging out to chat, eat, check out the new place, and roll, work the heavy bags, etc. It really is a great place – if you haven’t come to check it out yet, you should. Lots of room to roll, climate control (woo!), music… what else could a girl want?

A little competition perspective

Friday’s open mat was a much needed stress relief after a somewhat brutal week at work. I got a few frustrations out on the mat, and while chatting with a teammate (hi Tom!), got a little perspective on my biggest weakness as a grappler – my mind.

We were talking about whether swimming and grappling are in fact similar from a competitive standpoint. My initial response is no, it’s hugely different. Swimming -especially pool swimming – is a very solo sport. Sure, you’re competing against other swimmers, but they can’t physically impact your performance. How well you do is solely the result of your own efforts – it’s just you in that lane. Open water is a bit different because the physical contact can definitely be a factor, but the contact isn’t of a direct, one-on-one nature (except maybe around a hotly contested bouy).

Grappling, on the other hand, is a one-on-one, you against the other girl kind of sport. What your competition does has a direct and immediate effect on your performance. I think this is the part that tends to screw with my head a bit. I’m not used to not being able to do exactly what I want when I compete. I’m used to cutting bouys close during a race if I want. I know that if I want to draft off of someone, or drift a little off course to pick up a current, I can do it. In BJJ, I don’t feel good about being put in a position that I don’t want to be in. I get frustrated if someone blocks a pass attempt and puts me back in guard, or if they break my posture and start working for the armbar.

But in all honesty, as Tom pointed out, it’s really not all that different. In open water swimming in particular, you have a plan in place. You scope out the course ahead of time, determine the current and chop conditions, check water temperature, and stay flexible, When things change during the race – say the wind starts to kick up the chop or the tide turns on you early, you adjust your plan, but you still work your plan. And there’s the key, I think. In BJJ competitions, I’ve been so focused on reacting to the other person that I haven’t been focusing on my own game. The chess aspect of the sport, where you think several steps ahead, have a plan in place, and work to achieve your position rather than just trying to keep the opponent from achieving theirs, has eluded me somewhat.  Instead, I stress out about…well, everything really, and I’ve gotten myself beat before I even step on the mat.

So I’m going to try to approach my training with that in mind, and depending on how things go, consider possibly (maybe) competing sometime in the (somewhat) near future (but no promises). I still have a new job and a construction mess to deal with, so it isn’t a first priority. I’m ok with that – I’m not going to push it.

I am, however, incredibly excited for a full day of BJJ today. A three-hour seminar from Dalla’s instructor, Jorge Periera, followed by the grand opening of Dalla’s new gym (I’ll try to post pictures. Remind me to bring my camera…) followed by watching the fights with the team that night. Hot damn.

Holy construction, Batman!

I have come to loathe microwave food. If you’ve ever done construction on a kitchen, you feel my pain. And my pain has extended long past it’s scheduled end date because of a serious structural issue that would see the master bedroom eventually fly away from the rest of the house in a stiff breeze. But, because I’m excited that our cabinets are coming in tomorrow, and because I just felt like sharing, here’s a look at what we’ve been living with over the past few months.

Pushing the wall out a few feet. Big hole to fall in!

Why our backyard is now a huge mud pit

What it looks like when you try to moosh your entire kitchen into your living room. Note the strategic placement of the refrigerator behind two large boxes (the new ovens), an armchair, and an antique hutch.

It's going to be worth it...It's going to be worth it...It's going to be worth it...

BJJ Withdrawal?

What is it about BJJ that makes you feel so crappy when you don’t get to train? I was just talking about this with a teammate, and it seems like it’s a pretty common phenomenon. I was out for a full week because of the nasty cold that’s been going around, and between the constant coughing and wheezing and running nose and the lack of any kind of training, I was a true joy to be around.

So a few people have asked me lately if I’m planning on competing any time soon. It sort of got me wondering if maybe I should, but I’m trying to squash that thought as much as possible. I know that at this point, I don’t really have the time or motivation to put the work into it that I would need to. I learned in my last competition that if you decide to compete at the last minute and show up with your head somewhere other than in the tournament, you end up getting hurt. And If I got hurt, I wouldn’t be able to train. So in the interest of not being cranky and feeling sorry for myself, I’m going to avoid competing until I know I’m able to really focus on it.

Part of the reason I’m reluctant to commit to a tournament is that I’ve just accepted a new position at work, which has me brushing up on my foreign language skills – and I will be traveling for a week or so at a time four to six times a year. There’s nothing worse than deciding in advance to go to a tournament and then finding out that you’ll be overseas that weekend. Now I just need to find BJJ schools out there, or else my coworkers will wish I never joined the project. Perhaps I can use them as grappling dummies, or something. Fun for everyone!

As for swimming, I’ve already told my new boss that the second weekend in June is sacred and I will NOT under any circumstances be in eastern Europe or Asia that weekend. The Chesapeake Bay Swim trumps all.

Oh, and some good news – in my earlier blog entries, you’ll notice that I got super excited whenever another girl would even glance sideways at my BJJ class. Well, now we have no fewer than three girls training regularly at Woodbridge (the new school rocks, by the way. It’s huge! And Dalla has already put up the surround sound. Priorities.) There are another two girls at least training regularly in Crystal City, one of whom just won her division at No-Gi Pan Ams. Congrats, Elyse!! So the fact that I saw another tough looking chick talking to Dalla on Friday was less shocking, but no less exciting. The more girls we have, the more we’ll bring in.