August 3, 2009

Keep everything tight!

I had to blog about yesterday's class because I'm feeling very high right now about it.

There were five of us, one green belt and the rest white. Naturally, I worked between both groups but not before I had to have Joe as my warm up partner so by the time we were learning things, I was very warm.

We went over the double arm bar which was to be executed while in high guard (which I loved) and then tweaked it so we could easily transition from the double to a single if the opponent stood up.

The best part of the class was when Joe put the green belt out on the mat and me! This means two things. He knows that out of the other 3 white belts, I have the most skill. Second, he realizes how hard I have been working which was confirmed later on.

So basically, the green belt and I were on the mat the entire time while everyone else cycled through us. I did extremely and surprisingly well. We began with them in our guard and their job was to survive (and basically do anything) while ours was to submit. I worked the double arm bar on the bigger guy and tapped him out. Another skinnier guy came and I submitted him with a kimura. A few other times, I was able to get both of the opponents arms on the other side so their back was available but I was having trouble getting it. After the drill, class ended and Joe pulled me off to the side to show me how to take their back in that instance.

He dragged my arm all the way over which I was doing but he secured the wrist AND the elbow which made it a lot easier for him to drive me to the ground so that he could easily take my back. He congratulated me on doing well in the drill and added that he was very impressed that I wasn't tired at all. He also noted that I came to the gym often.

It's amazing how just a small talk can boost your confidence to 200% and make you feel awesome!