Tag Archives: brazilian-jiu-jitsu

Oct22

Alright, alright, already!

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Alright, alright, already!

I received this message a little bit ago:

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First of all, aren’t you a subscriber so you get notified when there IS something here and don’t need to keep checking? (Take note, all of you.)

Second, I’ve been swamped with work and authorly stuff, like bio, acknowledgements, finding other authors to write blurbs, etc. [Check, check, and check, but those were the easy items.]

Third, this means I’ve been ignoring all other blogs, and I feel guilty when I post here but don’t visit others.

But the above message is what I get for telling Mrs. Instructor I had a post waiting in the wings called “The One About Mrs. Instructor.” Some people just love seeing their name in lights blogs. So, without further ado…

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Aug11

Rolling with Mrs. Instructor, aka Do Not try this at home.

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Rolling with Mrs. Instructor, aka Do Not try this at home.

So, you would think since Mrs. Instructor and I are friends, we’re both female, I’m new to Master Cycle, and given that the guys are nice and easy on me, she would be too, right?

Wrong!

That chic’s leg hooks were SOLID. I feel like 75% of the time I’m able to slip a choke. She was all, “Oh, you want to slide out by getting your back to the ground? Let me just pull you back on top of me as though you weigh approximately 7.5 pounds.”

“You got a frame in on the right side? That’s cool, I’ll just fling you over to the left and sink the choke in with that arm.”

Daaaaaaannnnnggg. Such fierceness!

Basically, I didn’t stand a chance.

See? We’re friends! Remember these good ol’ days? (Never mind that this was a tactical “hug” just before I swept her leg.)

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Jul31

Most girls dream about their future wedding…

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Most girls dream about their future wedding…

I never did.

I did, however, daydream about how I’d most like to receive my new belt. In my ideal world, my old friends from Betsy’s Jiu-Jitsu Journey Part 1 would be there. They would understand how much finally getting this belt after 16 months away and having to start over would mean to me.

The students in my beginner class, meh. They’d sort of care, but also not, with the possible exception of the few other females.

I commented to Instructor and Mrs. Instructor that it would be nice to get the new belt when the blue belt students were around. Mrs. Instructor laughed and reminded me that it’s meant to be a surprise.

I was indeed surprised. At the end of a class, Instructor awarded a stripe to one student. Then he did the recap of the day’s lesson, signaling to me that the awarding of promotions was over. Disappointed, but whatever, I let my gi top hang around my waist to cool off, thus making me to look like an idiot (aka, my natural state) when the moment came.

See that big line up of dudes? Only a couple of them know me.

HOWEVER, it just so happened that one blue belt friend from the old days WAS there. Not only that, he was standing right next to me. If I could only choose one person from back then, this is the one I would have chosen. It was truly a blessing to me that he was there.

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Jul27

Turns out, you can accomplish something when you work really really hard at it. Who knew?

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Turns out, you can accomplish something when you work really really hard at it. Who knew?

Yet another previously written post, but I had good reason to delay publishing.

The writing was slowly appearing on the wall. The beginner Jiu-Jitsu class was becoming too basic. I’d lingered longer than a normal person would because I wanted to soak up every last detail.

Then when a student I’d been helping when he was relatively new earned his fourth stripe, I knew I had overstayed my welcome.

With this new resolve, after class one day, I approached Instructor.

“When do you think I’ll be ready to test?” I asked.

He looked down, thoughtful, then turned to his brother.

Surfer Dude looked at me. “Now?”

I rapid fire blinked at him.

“Yeah, do you want to do it now?” Instructor asked.

“What? Uhhh.” I had not expected this response, and I was not prepared to test on the spot.

“Do you want to watch the demo videos first?” SD asked and suggested I print the test pages which list the moves for each of the four main drills.

I agreed with this plan and left in a daze.

Before I had completed my old card, the gym’s system changed, and I got a brand new card. Remember how uptight I was about getting marks for Class 20? Turns out, it didn’t matter. I’ve got plenty of twenty now.

Having made the decision to test, I needed to prepare. The best person to help me was someone who knew enough Jiu-Jitsu to be a knowledgeable “bad guy.”

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Jul20

The reflex development that was

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The reflex development that was

I wrote this at least two months ago, but, for whatever reason, never posted it. Better late than never?

After regular Friday Jiu-Jitsu is an hour-long Reflex Development (RD) class. One Friday, after the first class ended, I sat on the bench, holding my socks. Should I put them on and leave? I surveyed the assembled students: a couple Master Cycle people, one who intimidated me a little, and two Combatives (my class) students whom I wasn’t fond of working with for one reason or another through no real fault of their own.

Surfer Dude began instructions, paused, looked at me, and said, “Are you staying for RD, Betsy?”

“I’m not sure yet,” I said.

Instructor spoke up. “Yes, you are,” he said firmly. “I’m not letting you leave here without doing RD.”

Well, okay, then. I was glad to have the decision made for me. Then one of my chicas showed up, so I was happy and comfortable working with her.

(It wasn’t this chica, but…) Mrs. Instructor, who posts pics on socials, commented that I’m smiling in nearly all of them. How can I not be?

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Jul16

Bonding over T-shirts

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Bonding over T-shirts
I had a fun little chat with a man wearing this shirt at Costco. I agree, but I like more than three people.

He appreciated the shirt I was wearing too.

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Jul7

The birth of Taekwon-Jitsu!

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The birth of Taekwon-Jitsu!

One of my daughters wanted to continue Taekwondo. Sensei said it would take a lot to pull him back into teaching. I suggested maybe we do a blend of Taekwondo and Jiu-Jitsu on a quid pro quo basis. I’ve acquired some grappling mats. Might as well use them. He agreed. And thus, Taekwon-Jitsu was born!

Sensei practiced three forms with us then eagerly pointed at the mats. “Remind me how to do triangle chokes.”

But first I wanted to be sure everyone had break falls and standing up in base down. Youngest Daughter, who was my assistant when I did self defense classes with fellow moms at school, went over trap and rolls and wrist releases with her sisters. (I was so proud.)

Meanwhile, I helped Sensei with triangle chokes. At some point I elbow escaped to get back into guard and so subsequently had to refresh his memory on elbow escaping. (I should mention, he only did Jiu-Jitsu with me for a month.)

Visual reminder: triangle choke

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Jun16

Big ol’ slippery mat? Of course I’m going to slide on it.

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Big ol’ slippery mat? Of course I’m going to slide on it.

Before I get to the main event, let’s pretend that last post didn’t happen, shall we? For the time being, I’m going to keep on keeping on. But, to be certain about my next plan of attack being legit, I needed to ask Hubby, “Do you think I can pull off this book thing?” He said, “Yeah, of course.”

So that’s that. I already have the title for chapter 1: “It was Covid, and I have a lemon tree.” How did those two facts lead me to martial arts? You’ll just have to wait and see. I’m taking pre-orders now. Kidding. 😉

Now on with the post!

The first time Instructor asked if people could help clean the mats after class, I jumped at it. Why not? The fancy vacuums, however, are not intuitive. Instructor had to say to me, “These are kind of tricky” three times as he repeatedly showed me how to put them together, turn them on, take them back apart, empty them…

When trying to put the “tank” back on the pole part, Surfer Dude said, “You make the labels match up.” He pointed at the labels. I stared at them. “It goes label to label,” he said again. Finally this computed in my brain, and I successfully put the pieces together, both literally and figuratively.

Visual interlude: This pic of SD was posted on Instagram. I commented, “That’s how I like to stand against the wall too. Feet are for chumps.”

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May3

A story about oranges … but also somewhat Jiu-Jitsu, of course

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A story about oranges … but also somewhat Jiu-Jitsu, of course

First, let me take you back to a fine afternoon in early April. As it is wont to do, my mind was on Jiu-Jitsu, what class we’d be doing in Jiu-Jitsu, how many more hours until Jiu-Jitsu. Finally, overflowing with eager anticipation, I messaged Mrs. Instructor.

I had not. I needed to check this out. Here it was:

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May2

Surfer Dude has abandoned me

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Surfer Dude has abandoned me

I’ve watched SD reprise his role enough times to *mostly* know how the game is played.

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I’ve watched SD reprise his role enough times to *mostly* know how the game is played.

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When Surfer Dude (SD) isn’t present and Instructor needs a demonstration partner, he usually scans the faces along the wall before saying, “So-in-so, can I use you, please?” often with a cupped hand beckoning the person onto the mat.

This time we had barely lined up, Instructor was still walking onto the mat, and didn’t even look when he called me out, as though it was a given.

That’s cool, and it’s still an honor, but when I reached the center of the mat, I saw SD standing on the far end.

Normally, I play the part of dutiful partner, staying on script, making myself as unmemorable as possible, but I couldn’t help but look at SD and throw my arms up in a “What the heck?!” fashion. He just smiled broadly then trained his eyes on Instructor.

I did the same because focusing on Instructor made it easier not to think about SD watching me. While I did his job. And he sized me up for competency.

Apparently he was just waiting to get across the mat without interrupting, because he left shortly after that. I breathed a little easier.

I’ve watched SD reprise his role enough times to *mostly* know how the game is played.

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