A Look Back on September 2018
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| Brandon wraps up a triangle during a no gi class |
Overview
September was a really really enjoyable month for me. I felt like I had finally settled at work into my new job, and was able to get some great, consistent training in with the new team. A consistency that I haven't had for a long time. Traveling was a blast, but it was time to get into a program and start grinding. I feel like that consistency has let to a lot of personal technical development, as well as relational development with my teammates. It has been just a lot of fun. I got to compete twice in October, once at Grappling Industries and once at a local NAGA event.
Blogging
I wrote a lot in September, but still felt like I had so much more to write about that I didn't get to. I'm really excited about the White Belt Stories project that I started. It kicked off with an interview with Howard Suyat. I loved working with Howard to put it together, and you guys loved reading it! It's actually the second most read post that I've done, and if you haven't gotten a chance to read it yet, I definitely think it's worth reading! I have a couple more stories that need to get converted from audio to text format, but I'm really looking forward to putting those out.
Another particular piece that I really enjoyed putting together was Non JiuJitsu Books for JiuJitsu. I got a lot of feedback from the community that got added to the post, and I downloaded audible or hard copy versions from your recommendations!
CompetitionBetween training with the National Guard and traveling, I've competed a lot less than I had hoped to this year. The stars aligned this month and I was lucky enough to get not just one, but two tournaments in! Not only that, but both of them were only an hour drive away, which meant that costs and time invested were both drastically less than they normally are.
Gi competition- I was really happy with the results from my pajama wearing matches. Between the two tournaments, I won four out of five matches, with all four wins coming from a submission. The gi match that I lost was a hard fought one that resulted in a 0-2 loss on points. Like I wrote about last month, I've put significantly more training time in with a gi on, and that apparent in the match results.
No Gi- I had five no gi matches last month and I lost four of them and only won one by a couple points. I lost three of those to submissions and one by points. Those submissions were: a toe-hold, a heel-hook, and a knee-bar. I think my leg attack/defense might be a little lacking 😝 I walked away from those matches with a ton of notes though, and have been working with the team and my instructor to clean up those glaring no gi deficiencies. I haven't missed a no gi class since I moved, and with pajama-less classes twice a week and a knowledgeable instructor on the area, I'm looking forward to continuous development to this aspect of my gameI do have another competition this weekend. It's a sub only venue (My absolute favorite!) and I'm stoke about it.
TravelingBetween the tournaments and tough tournament preparation, I didn't want to take time away from training with the team to travel this month. So it was pretty limited.
I did make the 5 hour round trip drive down to Seattle to train at Fosters Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Being welcomed into training with Foster's team is always a delight for me. It means fresh faces and new games to play against. Something that I really enjoy.
I also got to be a part of a seminar at Bellingham BJJ that was taught by Miha Perhavec. I had to leave early to square things away for moving into a new place, which meant missing out on rolling 💔 I was impressed with Miha's instructional ability and took a lot away from his seminar. Plus Jeff Shaw is one of the coolest people in JiuJitsu, and a chance to be on the mats with him is always a great time.
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| The Wakizashi Team at NAGA last weekend |
One of the reasons that I haven't traveled as much has been because I haven't wanted to miss training with the team. The structured program that Professor Eli runs and the combined with the consistency of working with the team has led to some significant progress in my game. I wish that the no gi competition results looked different for me. That way I could point to this team for the reason why. I'm still relatively new to it though, but I hold a strong belief that competition results in time will begin to reflect the quality of training that I am receiving here.
The team had a big turnout at the NAGA this this past weekend and it was fantastic to cheer, be cheered for and celebrate podium finishes with teammates. Tournaments are always a more memorable experience with the team, and the food afterwards always tastes better over stories about the day's results.
What I'm looking forward to in OctoberThings have quieted down a lot for me since moving for the new job. I've really welcomed it too. I hate the word balance, but I have to say that I feel that I have finally found a great balance between work, JiuJitsu, and traveling. The consistent time with a team has led to a lot of development, something that is always my goal with training.
I've decided to reserve traveling for primarily open mats on the weekends, and hopefully i can slowly make my way across the state in-between tournaments and National Guard training.
I've just found myself really happy with life right now, and I'm overall just looking forward to the continuous progress that has been happening.
As always, thank you so much for reading! I've loved the feedback that you all have given me this month, and I hope to see you all on the mats soon!
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