Level 1 tonight, taught by the Gorgeous Bastard, whooped me. I was lucky enough to pair with The Gentleman, because I hounded him into it,& Quiet R worked in with us to make it a threesome. I hope I'm not holding The Gentleman back, because he's much more advanced than me, but I selfishly seek him out anyway & do the best I can. Its true what they say about the importance of working with people better than you - your own skills improve much quicker that way. We did loads of fun stuff, as always with GB, the kind of fun stuff that makes you want to heave. Let's see, front kicks, palm heel strikes and drill drill drill drill.
Level 2/3, again with The Gentleman, taught by Relentless, whose new favorite warmup exercise is to have you lie on your back with your partner standing over you with his feet on either side of your head. You grab the back of his feet & with straight legs raise your feet to him. He shoves your feet down & quickly bends down to give you two quick punches in the gut. By the end of it I'm squealing like its the Spanish Inquisition. Nobody loves a good punch or kick to the gut as much as Relentless, so we gave & we got tonight. We also played Monkey in the Middle with chokes, kicks, hammerfists, & knees. I love that game! By the end of it my legs are rubbery & I'm disoriented & giving pathetic little heaving noises with each strike, and I can barely breathe. It makes me so happy. Then we did gun takeaways.
By the way, the new Crossfit space is a work of art - absolutely beautiful. Beautiful enough to inspire me to endure the fiery pit of Hell that is a Crossfit workout. And let's face it, I've noticed that Crossfit girls tend to have exceptionally nice rear ends. so there's that.
Looking forward to the new schedule & MMA classes with Mudslide and the Sultan of Sneak!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday Night Sweatfest
Started yesterday on the heavy bag again, tightening up techniques. Its nice to be alone with a bag & some time, it really allows you to feel out different versions of what you're trying to achieve. New York E helped me out, pointing out that I'm moving in directly into what could be an oncoming punch & working with me on moving the other way.
Level 1 I paired with Spike, who has those former boxer straight punches that will knock you on your ass. I was just holding the focus mitts for him & thinking how I would never, never want to be hit that hard in the head in real life. Stick & move!! We also worked side hammerfists & front kicks. My hammerfists have not recovered their strength yet from having to change my form to blocking my face with my free hand instead of blocking nothing, but they're getting stronger. Bagwork is helping. Ended the class with bear hug from behind. Thank god Spike was wearing a cup, I really got to smack him.
Level 3 was the Gorgeous Bastard's class, & I paired with Teensy LL, always a goal for me because she's smart & quite good at this stuff. This class was freaking fun! We did 2 & 3 point defenses against round kick to the head. No way will I ever do a 2 point block in real life, it'll crack my little arm right in half, and then I'll have to wear a hook, which will make it hard to give myself a pedicure. 3 point is good, though, and actually fun for some reason. Then we sparred a bit, then sparred against multiple attackers. GB is always talking about how sparring can be unrealistic (as opposed to actual fighting) because it turns into a game of cat and mouse. I agree, the supremely useful thing about sparring, for me, it that is teaches you to take hard hits & keep fighting, because the things I think I'd do in a fight are too dangerous to do in sparring. So he had us do an exercise where we protect a friend. So, let's say Miss K of the Fabulous Hair is my friend & she doesn't know how to fight. We're just hanging out & Teensy LL comes along & remembers how much she hates Miss K of FH. Teensy LL attacks her! My job is to recognize the attack & block it, continuing to fight TLL as she both fights me & continues to try to get past me to MK of FH, who squeals & runs if TLL gets near her. Hell, no TLL does not get near her, because I'm on the job, though let's face it, I do get punched in the head a lot.
So, as GB later explains, we replace our game of cat and mouse with a realistic objective & therefore forget about sparring & just fight. It was so much FUN. Then we had to do straight up sparring, but we had our gear bags strapped to us while we went at it, to add another level of difficulty & distraction. Annoying, but effective!
Level 1 I paired with Spike, who has those former boxer straight punches that will knock you on your ass. I was just holding the focus mitts for him & thinking how I would never, never want to be hit that hard in the head in real life. Stick & move!! We also worked side hammerfists & front kicks. My hammerfists have not recovered their strength yet from having to change my form to blocking my face with my free hand instead of blocking nothing, but they're getting stronger. Bagwork is helping. Ended the class with bear hug from behind. Thank god Spike was wearing a cup, I really got to smack him.
Level 3 was the Gorgeous Bastard's class, & I paired with Teensy LL, always a goal for me because she's smart & quite good at this stuff. This class was freaking fun! We did 2 & 3 point defenses against round kick to the head. No way will I ever do a 2 point block in real life, it'll crack my little arm right in half, and then I'll have to wear a hook, which will make it hard to give myself a pedicure. 3 point is good, though, and actually fun for some reason. Then we sparred a bit, then sparred against multiple attackers. GB is always talking about how sparring can be unrealistic (as opposed to actual fighting) because it turns into a game of cat and mouse. I agree, the supremely useful thing about sparring, for me, it that is teaches you to take hard hits & keep fighting, because the things I think I'd do in a fight are too dangerous to do in sparring. So he had us do an exercise where we protect a friend. So, let's say Miss K of the Fabulous Hair is my friend & she doesn't know how to fight. We're just hanging out & Teensy LL comes along & remembers how much she hates Miss K of FH. Teensy LL attacks her! My job is to recognize the attack & block it, continuing to fight TLL as she both fights me & continues to try to get past me to MK of FH, who squeals & runs if TLL gets near her. Hell, no TLL does not get near her, because I'm on the job, though let's face it, I do get punched in the head a lot.
So, as GB later explains, we replace our game of cat and mouse with a realistic objective & therefore forget about sparring & just fight. It was so much FUN. Then we had to do straight up sparring, but we had our gear bags strapped to us while we went at it, to add another level of difficulty & distraction. Annoying, but effective!
Monday, October 27, 2008
last saturday
Last saturday's class was really interesting. I showed up late to level 1 all flustered & ended up assisting The Rock teaching instead of training. I made a couple of mistakes while demonstrating techniques, but for the first time I didn't want to kill myself over it. I guess I'm starting to get used to talking in front of the class, because my heart wasn't about to burst out of my chest. The Rock also has a very calming influence on me, so maybe that's it, too.
Second hour was GB's level 2/3 class & it was SO much fun. At one point he sat down on his behind with his back against the wall, knees bent & arms resting on his knees. He said, "You know, I was sitting like this the other day, & I started thinking..." So he had us work defenses from this position. I love it when my teachers put things into a context of reality & just make you work through things while guiding you along. I rarely got up off the ground because my attacker was coming in hard & not backing off, but it was good, because it forced me practice kicking - just kicking - the crap out of somebody.
Third hour was BJJ with the Sultan of Sneak (SS). I'm often confused by Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, because I only practice it once a week, and its so complicated. Though I suspect its one the arts that, once you get it, its so obvious.
On being a good partner: I'm working with a woman who is much stronger & more experienced than me. She's very conscientious about being a good partner. But because she's so much stronger, she's ripping my joints out of their sockets without meaning to, & I spent the weekend icing my knee as a result. The dilemma is, if I ask her to lighten up, am I being a poor partner? I don't want to hold her back at all, I like her & respect her. And when I want to go hard, its a bummer to pair with someone who can't! The trick, I suppose, is to find the balance that works for both parties, just like any other relationship.
Second hour was GB's level 2/3 class & it was SO much fun. At one point he sat down on his behind with his back against the wall, knees bent & arms resting on his knees. He said, "You know, I was sitting like this the other day, & I started thinking..." So he had us work defenses from this position. I love it when my teachers put things into a context of reality & just make you work through things while guiding you along. I rarely got up off the ground because my attacker was coming in hard & not backing off, but it was good, because it forced me practice kicking - just kicking - the crap out of somebody.
Third hour was BJJ with the Sultan of Sneak (SS). I'm often confused by Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, because I only practice it once a week, and its so complicated. Though I suspect its one the arts that, once you get it, its so obvious.
On being a good partner: I'm working with a woman who is much stronger & more experienced than me. She's very conscientious about being a good partner. But because she's so much stronger, she's ripping my joints out of their sockets without meaning to, & I spent the weekend icing my knee as a result. The dilemma is, if I ask her to lighten up, am I being a poor partner? I don't want to hold her back at all, I like her & respect her. And when I want to go hard, its a bummer to pair with someone who can't! The trick, I suppose, is to find the balance that works for both parties, just like any other relationship.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Soooo tired. I started a little after 5 p.m. My teacher & The Gentleman, who I usually train with at this time weren't there, so I worked on the heavy bag til 6, just tweaking, improving some basics like round kick, hammerfist to the side, & straight punch.
6 p.m. began the level 1 class with CB, our MMA coach, & young RG teaching. I rarely get to take a class with CB, and I love to train with him, because he has a totally different eye for what's going on. I partnered with Miss L, who is strong as a freaking ox, which is one reason she's in demand. We worked hammerfists, front kick, & headlock from the side. On a side note, we did the Drill Which Has No Name, where you get into groups of 3, the striker has a belt around his waist by which he is dragged backward by another person, and WHILE he is dragged backward he strikes a bag with continual hammerfists. Its exhausting & its my favorite drill. I ended up being the odd man out, so I was the striker after everyone else in the room had finished, & so had the entire room standing around like an angry mob screaming at me "GO! GO! HIT THE BAAAAAG!!" It was cool.
7 pm - level 2/3 - partnered up with The Gentleman, who never fails to beat the crap out of me. He is wonderful. First half of the class we did combinations on the focus mitts, 2nd half we worked on long gun, taking it away from the person who has it trained on you & punishing him with it. Never, never piss off The Gentleman.
6 p.m. began the level 1 class with CB, our MMA coach, & young RG teaching. I rarely get to take a class with CB, and I love to train with him, because he has a totally different eye for what's going on. I partnered with Miss L, who is strong as a freaking ox, which is one reason she's in demand. We worked hammerfists, front kick, & headlock from the side. On a side note, we did the Drill Which Has No Name, where you get into groups of 3, the striker has a belt around his waist by which he is dragged backward by another person, and WHILE he is dragged backward he strikes a bag with continual hammerfists. Its exhausting & its my favorite drill. I ended up being the odd man out, so I was the striker after everyone else in the room had finished, & so had the entire room standing around like an angry mob screaming at me "GO! GO! HIT THE BAAAAAG!!" It was cool.
7 pm - level 2/3 - partnered up with The Gentleman, who never fails to beat the crap out of me. He is wonderful. First half of the class we did combinations on the focus mitts, 2nd half we worked on long gun, taking it away from the person who has it trained on you & punishing him with it. Never, never piss off The Gentleman.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Today I had a private lesson with GB (this is short for Gorgeous Bastard - I won't use real names here unless I have permission, and no, he's not really a bastard, but he is an outstanding teacher) and Miss C. We did groundwork, escaping from a headlock on the ground in various ways. I know in my brain that these techniques work, but my body isn't on board yet. Still a long way to go, but groundwork is so much fun that I still left class in a great mood.
Miss C did, too. Its great to have a partner who is such a good sport. She's been my regular training partner for a year & a half, but now we're mostly splitting up to work with guys to toughen up a bit more. So it was fun to be together on the mat!
F&F's new Crossfit space is coming along nicely, as well. It looks I'll be trying out some Crossfit classes to increase my strength & conditioning for krav, which frightens & disturbs me, as the last Crossfit workout I did made me hurt in ways that seemed straight out of a twisted sci fi novel. Yep, I'm in.
Miss C did, too. Its great to have a partner who is such a good sport. She's been my regular training partner for a year & a half, but now we're mostly splitting up to work with guys to toughen up a bit more. So it was fun to be together on the mat!
F&F's new Crossfit space is coming along nicely, as well. It looks I'll be trying out some Crossfit classes to increase my strength & conditioning for krav, which frightens & disturbs me, as the last Crossfit workout I did made me hurt in ways that seemed straight out of a twisted sci fi novel. Yep, I'm in.
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