10 Uncomfortable Things

So here is a funny, but quite true post about my opinions on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  Today's post describes 10 things that are highly UNcomfortable that you must become comfortable with if you want to make BJJ a lifestyle.  This post is mostly for the ladies, but some of the items on the list might be relevant for the man folk as well.   Yes, I am aware that I am a lowly blue belt and my BJJ journey is just getting underway.  However as you will read I am CERTAIN that you will all agree with this list and its components.  Enjoy!

10 Things that are uncomfortable that you must become comfortable with in order to make BJJ a lifestyle:

1)  Your ears hurt.   Seriously.  Unless you wear ear protection (a lot of ladies don't) your lil' ears are sore all the time.  They get bent, squished, and burned constantly.  Because most of us ladies did not grow up wrestling, we are not predisposed to the cauliflower ear prevention methods, i.e. ear protection.

2)  Your water bill will be 120 dollars a month....minimum.  Every day you wash a gi, sometimes 2;  not to mention all of your other training gear every day.   You may take 2 showers a day, wash your hands a lot, and become good friends with Hibiclens.  ;)

3)  No matter what you do, your Gi just will not get clean anymore and becomes permanently "seasoned."  There comes a point when no matter how many times you wash a gi, on hot, it still smells the second you get warmed up in class.

4)  Someone's sweat WILL drop into your eye or into your mouth.  I don't think anyone will ever get comfy with this, but your reaction goes from "WTF, gross!" to "ah, no worries it happens."   YUCK

5)  Your arms and legs will never be sexy.  They will have at least one obnoxious bruise on them at all times.  A bruise that makes your parents wonder if your fiance is beating you.  Yeah, I just said that.

6)  Almost every time you train there will be rogue hairs in your mouth.  Not your rogue hairs, but someone elses; black, curly ones that end up inside your mouthpiece and sometimes make it down your throat.  Groooooosss.  Hopefully you can dig them out of your mouth before you swallow them.

7)  The back of your arms getting pinched.  Remember in middle school kids used to pinch that back of your arms and it would make you sooooo mad?   Ugh, I remember this as a crappy flirting technique that guys in 6th grade used to employ...oh yes, pinching the back of my arm will make me want to hold your hand for sure.  About as useful of a flirting technique as snapping a girls bra.  Aaaaanyway this is commonplace and happens on accident on the regular.  This pairs with number 5 because it gives you ugly bruises on your arms that people want to get an explanation for.

8)  Your fingertips look like a Clingon's forehead.  No really.  And yes, a Star Trek reference was warranted here.  Your fingertips look so ugly from the calluses that you won't let anyone take a picture of your engagement ring on your finger because all you see is ENORMOUS RED FLAKY callouses in the picture.   Wait, what?  No, I'm not talking about me.....;)

9) You injure parts of your body that you didn't know existed.  Along these same lines you injure parts of your body that you know exist, they are just completely random.  Oh this tiny little pinpoint spot on my knee hurts.  Or your thumb hurts like hellfire for a reason you can't remember.

10)  Someone will breathe inside your mouth.  Someone who you don't want breathing inside of your mouth. This one is the worst to me.  It actually happened today....let's imagine it shall we......you are near the end of an intense training session, someone is trying hard to sweep you, or vise versa, and at the same time you are starting to breathe in through your mouth because its sooooo hot and humid, your sparring partner exhales hard....right into your mouth.  Then you violently try and exhale their air back out of your mouth before you inhale it back into your body where it will be trapped forever and ever and ever and ever....wait, also not talking about me.  ;)

In my opinion, these are some of the biggest doozies.  There are many more to name and I would love to have them added onto the list.  Please let me know what you think!  Cheers!!

Competition Season Prep

It has been what seems like FOREVER since I last posted....The holidays, combined with the upcoming nuptials and my last semester of graduate school have all taken their toll on my free time to blog.  The holidays were great, I was able to lighten my training which was difficult, but necessary in order to prevent the ever so common staleness and overtraining effects.  They were filled with family, fun time, and great memories.  2012 has been a kick in the pants so far for sure.  My weeks have filled right up with my personal training job, my internship (free, mind you), wedding planning, and my own training.  It has been a daily juggling act but I have finally ironed out all the kinks and am sticking to a pretty strict schedule.  One big change that I have made is switching my off day.  As any competitive athlete knows the off day is the favorite day!  Eat what you want, relax and receup before a hard week of training begins again.  There is team training on Sundays now, so I switched my off day to Friday.   I love this training on Sundays because Traven makes it his personal mission to single-handedly take our souls on the mats.  I leave feeling accomplished and absolutely exhausted!  So far it has been a great training camp!  Each day I learn something new and take away a new technique to incorporate into my game.  Really excited about upcoming Lutador Grappling March 3rd here in Atlanta and Pan Ams at the end of March.  Before I know it Mundials will be here!
         The wedding is going to be on October 13th this fall.  Stressful is quite the understatement so my training is helping with easing the built up tension!  It is crazy the things that stress you out when you are planning a wedding.  Who would have thought that merely collecting addresses would be so irritating!!
         This afternoon I was lucky to be on Tom McManus' radio show out of Jacksonville, Florida.  It is called Suck it Up Radio and each week they do a segment on some aspect of the MMA scene.  Tom and Larry asked me to be on the show and give my perspective being a female in a male dominated sport/atmosphere.  We chatted about all sorts of things ranging from nutrition to training regimen to bullying.  It was a great time and I am very appreciative to Larry and Tom for having me on the show.  Yay!  I will post the interview sometime next week.  
         Until next time; train on!!

The Off Season

This time of the year is considered our BJJ off season here at the gym.  From the end of October until the first of the year there are no big Gi tourneys for the team.  There are a few Nagas and Copa Americas here and there but no IBJJF events for us.  I am not complaining.  Because of the holidays, AKA time o' indulgence, AKA family time, I am not upset that there is not a huge tournament that I have to be in peak physical BJJ condition for.  Speaking of physical conditioning, I am taking this time of year to improve my strength and conditioning.  Instead of S & C 2-3 times a week and BJJ 5 days a week like I did during tourney season I have flipped it.  Right now I am doing 3-4 days a week BJJ and 4-5 days of S & C.  I felt strong during the past year however I felt like my cardio could use a boost.  I am still lifting a few days a week and doing cardio and interval training at least 3 days a week.  Today I accomplished an updated interval workout that has pushed me beyond any prior workout of the same nature (double word score!).  Although I was exhausted I feel like I have taken a big step forward with my cardio.  My goal is to progress even further with my cardio and then be able to maintain the same workout or progress into the tournament season.  I have also started heavy squatting again.  Because of my guard game and the strain on the legs I have been advised not to squat during tournament season so as to avoid injury (did I say advised?  I mean I was forbidden, lol).  I have been squatting consistently for about a month again and I feel like I have picked up right where I left off and probably a little beyond that in terms of weight lifted.  I also have backed down the BJJ sessions so I don't become burned out and get discouraged.  There is not a worse feeling for me than feeling burned out.  Its like a hopeless, frustrated tornado that spins out of control for me sometimes. Instead I have a calorie-burning, fat-blasting, heart-racing, squat-wrecking tornado and its a dandy (F5 most likely).  My goal is to be a beast come next tournament season. I do not just want to be conditioned.  I want to have the tightest female triangle in North America come next March.  I also want to be able to go for days.  Oh, that round was only 10 minutes?  It went by fast. That's what I want to say come March.  Here's to training:  May the intervals seem short and the rest periods seem long.  Cheers!!

FOOOOOOOD

Over the years I have grappled with soooo many different styles of eating.  Ever since I became crazy workout lady I have tried to stay as healthy as possible, however I will admit I have fallen for a few of the diet fads over the past few years.  When I was a freshman in college in 2000 (sigh) the Atkins diet had just become popular.  There hadn't been much research done into the health disadvantages of this diet, so of course it was all the rage.  My Mother had been introduced to the Mayo Clinic Diet.  In essence this was the Atkins diet.  No carbs; just veggies, meat and any fried combination of the two you wanted.  During my freshman year of school I was not working out.  I had spend my entire life playing sports and being active so when I went to college I just assumed I was naturally going to stay thin.  WRONG.  I gained the freshman weight.  One day I looked in the mirror and said "what the hell is wrong with me?!  You are horrendous!!"  It really hit home when I was on Christmas Vacation and my brother looked across the room at me and said, "dude you're gaining weight."  I was mortified and so upset.  My mom told me to try this Mayo clinic diet.  I still wasn't working out and I decided to try this diet anyway.  In 2 weeks I had lost 10 pounds and I felt terrible.  I was able to eat as much as I wanted and was losing weight but I felt like a chicken finger.  I seriously felt like one big chicken finger dipped in full fat ranch.  My body didn't feel right.  I went to try and run one afternoon in Statesboro and had NO energy whatsoever.  Diet fail.  I took a vow to workout every day and get on a clean diet.  Throughout the next 2 years I dropped my weight dropped drastically.  I was doing cardio 5x a week, with no strength training.  I did not have a drop of alcohol for a year and a half.  I attributed my weight loss to the cardio and the fact that I did not drink alcohol like all of my friends did.  I did not realize that the reason I dropped so much weight was because I was not eating enough food.  Yes the cardio burned the calories but I was lucky if I consumed 1500 calories a day.  Sometimes I would eat breakfast, get busy and then not eat until supper time when I would eat a pint of ice cream instead of eating real food. I weighed 125 pounds, and at my skinniest in 2002 I weighed 120 pounds.  I was 5'9 inches, 120 pounds of skinny fat. Yuck.  Diet Fail No.2.  After that stint I started a cardio and weight training regimen and took up middle distance running.  I gained about 10-15 lbs of muscle and was able to eat pretty much whatever I wanted.  As far as performance goes, I still didn't feel right.  I would get crampy when I would run, my muscular endurance wasn't where I wanted it to be, and I would sometimes have champion cardio and then the next day I would gas after 10 minutes.  This did not bother me that much because I was working out to stay in shape.  I did not have a sport that I was still trying to be competitive with that I would need to be in peak physical conditioning for. Then in 2008 I started submission grappling, muay thai, and boxing at a gym in Savannah.  I took a liking to it but did not know if I was going to be competitive with it.  I made the move to Atlanta and started training with Team Traven.  Boy did things need to change.  I fell in love with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and decided to compete as often as possible.  I was in between weight classes so I decided smaller was better. I decided to do a low calorie diet instead of doing the ever popular paleo and no-carb diets.  I was still eating breads and rice, but I was counting calories like a beast.  I would take in 1200 calories.  Sure I lost the weight, but I was a miserable cranky mess.  I decided (well Traven and Jeff decided for me) that maybe light weight was not for me.  I would try out middle weight and just eat what I wanted.  Middle weight has panned out to be the right weight class for me, so over the past 3 months I have been trying to tune my diet to where it needs to be for peak performance.  I have a friend in Savannah who has been specializing in nutritional plans and diets for athletes for over 40 years.  I took Jeff down to Savannah with me and we decided to take his advice and try his nutrition plan.  In essence the plan is 5 meals a day consisting of carbs, protein and veggies. Not to mention you have to drink a gallon and a half of water a day.   There is veeeery low fat in the diet.  The goal of the diet is to lose fat, maintain or build lean mass, and to give your body enough fuel it needs to endure however long you are training each day.  The diet is specific to my body and workouts and I feel great.  I hit a small speed bump because I got lazy with the veggies, but I am back on track now.  I did not realize my success until I went to my Bioenergetics lab session today and was given  a submaximal exercise test.  I did this in 2007 at Armstrong and has terrible results.  Today I did the same test and my numbers were 100x better.  My professor informed me that hydration and diet has a lot to do with these values, it's not just how "in shape" you are.   I was using a lot of carbohydrates during the test because I had so many of them to use.   :)   My results excited me and I feel like I am in a really good place with my eating.  I take Sundays off of the eating plan to eat brunch and yes, eat some pizza or something delicious that I can share with Jeffie.  :)  I do feel like I have finally figured out how to eat and train at the high intensity that I would like.  My next venture is to write a blog on the dangers of low carb dieting and intense exercise;  not just speaking from experience and feeling stupid about falling for the gimmick but also discussing some facts I have learned in my Bioenergetics class.  Carbohydrates are our friends!!   Yay!

THE BUBBLE

              Today was stellar.  It really was. Nothing makes you feel better than having great  BJJ training sessions. Everyone has heard of runners high?  Well Jiu Jitsu high is runner's high times 10.  The feeling is wonderful.  I am not quite sure why the after BJJ bubble is so much bigger than it is after I have a great run or a great workout.  It must be because it exhausts me more than any other workout I have done in my life and that makes me feel great.
             This morning there was ladies class as usual, and there were a bunch of faces missing on the mats but the training session was great.  One of the blue belt ladies from the Marietta affiliate came and trained and as we all know it is wonderful to be able to train with your usual teammates as well as new faces.  There were only three of us azul ladies and about 6 white belts so it was still a full ladies class.  We worked some open guard sweeps with the leg lasso and then finished the session with some intense rolls.  Our fellow comrade Anna stopped by to say hello.  She hurt he knee about a month ago and has been laid up healing.  ;(  Can't wait to have her back on the mats!
             I stayed for the second class for all level belts as well.  The class was strictly warm up and and straight to rolling today.  There was a round robin scenario on both side of the mats. One side for the big boys and one side for everyone else.  You tap, you move out.  Today was great not only because I was absolutely worn out and fingertips raw when I finished but I learned so much while rolling today.  I learned a toe hold defense (which you always have to learn the hard way after you get put in one) and a knee bar defense (yep, have to learn the same way, haha).  I don't get put in these situation often because the higher ranked brown and black belts are really the only ones who do this in training.  Today there was a black belt on our side of the mat who helped me with this and he also taught me a wicked way to finish head and arm choke from side mount (thanks Paul).  I figure it is never too early to learn these defenses so hopefully in the future I will become much more aware of my feet when I roll.
              I love the feeling the Jiu Jitsu gives me after a training session.  I'm sure I am quite annoying to Jeff, Traven, and everyone at the front desk because I 'm just a talkin' after I get done training.  My little workout high bubble is at full capacity and I will talk to you about your plans for the day, your relationship, your dog's intestinal problems, which conference has the best football, your upcoming move, Lord of the Rings, my family, Rooster Cogburn, noodling, sushi, and the fact that we are all having the best day ever.  FYI some of those convos have never happened.
           

Too many chiefs and not enough......

Too many chiefs and not enough Indians (sorry for being politically incorrect, its just a saying).  Soooo, whilst training have you ever heard "that won't work on me," or "I almost had you."   SERIOUSLY.   I have heard this not only directed at myself but I have heard other students in class say that to each other.  White belts no less!   I have noticed that this is a beginner trend usually; like when white belts who have been training for a few months roll with a brand new white belt.  They say something like "that armbar won't work on me." Okay, that brand new student (may I remind everyone we were ALL beginner white belts once) is attempting a technique that he/she has just learned.  There is most likely no transition into it, it may be very "robotic," by the book, or it may be incorrect.  He or she just learned the technique.  If you see something wrong, grab the instructor and get it fixed.  If you feel like the person can't break your posture and they aren't going to get the armbar, then ok, keep your mouth shut and keep working.  It is so disrespectful and discouraging to hear something like this, especially to brand new students.  At Traven's place I have never heard any of the higher ranks say this.  Everyone is super respectful and mindful of their training partners.  If for instance I try an armbar on a higher rank and he knows it is not going to break his posture or be able to sink in, I will either pay for my mistake and learn that way or I get helpful advice like "hey instead of this, try this instead," or "this is a good way this works for me."   White belts and most blue belts for that matter do not have the credentials or knowledge base to give out this kind of info."  So instead of being disrespectful grab an instructor or just keep your mouth shut and do some Jiu Jitsu. I heard the "I almost had you" the other day.  I was rolling with a relatively new white belt and had double unders and was attempting to pass.  He locked his legs together and though if he squeezed his legs I would tap.  It was tight on my head, but I ripped out and passed.  Then he said "I almost had you."   NICE.

The value of training partners

Yesterday was glorious.  I was able to fit in great bjj sessions.  I always look forward to the different array of people who train in the day and then at night.  During the day class there were 2 of us ladies, 3 black belts, a couple brown belts, and the rest were purple belts.  I started off with the other lady in the class for the first roll. One of the black belts is coming off of a knee injury and is just able to get back to light training.  Traven had me train with him 4 different rolls yesterday.  I have always liked training with him for a few different reasons.  Firstly, the great advantage about training with blackbelts (I'm using the term collectively, I am referring to the ones that I have trained with) is that even though my 100% matches their 20%, I know that I am safe.  I never have to worry about them muscling me around and throwing me on my face.  I also get to try techniques that I am too timid to try otherwise without them trying to kill me.  Also, especially in yesterday's case, all of my mistakes get exploited.  If I turn the wrong way or stick an arm in when I shouldn't or grab the wrong lapel I not only pay for it but I get an explanation of what I did wrong and pointers on how to make it better.  The other lesson I gained from yesterday's session was that I need to learn to be on my toes more.  Literally and figuratively.  I was in positions that I have typically felt "safe" in.  Like certain halfguard situations and when in inverted guard when I am on top.  Suddenly, I am on  my back.  haha.  I only pray that someday I will have even half of the Jiu Jitsu that Chakalaka does.  I also noticed that the kid NEVER stops moving.  The variety of the bjj styles at the gym is extraordinary.  There is slow-smothering guy who makes you want to die.  There is crazy backflip inverted guard man.  There is leg-lock fantasy guy.  There is brute strength "I will treat you like a small child" dude.  There is "every roll is a competition" guy (yeah every gym has one).  Regardless there is something to learn from all of your training partners!