Maniac

When I was a kid, my family used to drive down to California every couple of years. Back then, I never even knew another kid who'd been to the kid Mecca of all vacations, and we went semi-regularly to Disneyland.

I loved that place, and still do. I used to think that the greatest thing in the world would be to live right inside Disneyland itself, and if that wasn't possible, to live close by.

This winter Helen and I will be living about a half hour drive away.

We are going for Jiu-Jitsu, and I do not intend missing any training.

Three days a week I will have an afternoon break of about 5 hours. In a normal world this would be plenty of time to pop down for a short visit, but not in LA.

Drives always take longer than expected, but let's assume that we make it to Disneyland in 30 minutes. I'd insist on an extra 30 minutes for the drive back in case of any traffic snarls; not going to be late for class.

Disney parking isn't the same as parking anywhere else. You park in a giant structure, catch a tram, ride it, get off, walk, line up, and finally enter. Leaving is the same.

At best, a 5 hour training break would contain well under 3 hours in the theme park, surrounded by 2 hours of commuting.

Even I don't find this very attractive.

The other two weekdays have longer breaks of 7 and 8.5 hours. This is much more promising. They could contain 5 and 6.5 hours in the theme park respectively.

Saturday, I have a single class that ends at noon, and there are no classes at all on Sunday. Lots of vacation fun possible on the weekends.

Does this mean I plan on going to Disneyland four days a week for two months?

Not at all. I use my Disney addiction to illustrate our LA situation. We will have time to do something fun each day, but often it will need to be closer at hand.

This is fine. We are taking our folding bikes along, and might just go ride along the seaside. There are several massive malls nearby, and we might just wander there. Downtown, Chinatown, and Japantown are all very attractive to walk through.

Bigger or farther things will be tackled on my longer-break days, or on the weekends.

So will we go to Disneyland a lot? Let me answer by saying that it will make financial sense for us to purchase annual passes even though we're only going to be in LA for two months.

I love that place.

Skinny legs

I really enjoy Jiu-Jitsu, and it's done a lot for me physically.

My back hasn't had a serous problem since I started training over two years ago. I've also lost a bunch of weight, and there seems to be more muscle on my arms and torso than is typical for me.

A weird thing has happened since I've pretty much stopped Karate training and seriously curtailed my running in lieu of more Jiu-Jitsu.

Pretty much all I've been doing is bike riding and Jiu-Jitsu for the last couple of months.

My calves have gotten smaller. They were pretty muscular before. It seems that although Jiu-Jitsu has been great for me generally, it isn't so wonderful for the lower body.

This makes sense. The majority of time we're on the ground rolling around. Arms, backs, and the good old core get a good workout, but the legs don't.

Now that my much dreaded Jiu-Jitsu exam is largely over, I can get back into my other activities. I ran today. Haven't done that recently. I'm going to spend two three-day weekends soon training in good, old Shotokan Karate.

My calves should re-emerge soon.

Relaxed

Things changed today.

I no longer have to worry about my Jiu-Jitsu test. Today I finished off the last technical section. The video file is saved and ready to upload to HQ. I still have two teenie tiny sparring sections left to bang off, but I'll likely wait until our instructor gets home early in December. No pressure to that.

No pressure at all.

I've been pushing ahead towards this exam since last December. It's been ten months of cramming in 16 months of material. As time went on, the pressure slowly increased, reaching a crescendo recently.

Now it's done.

Plenty still to do, of course. There are several While belts who want to be ready to test soon. They could use some help.

There are also our two newest Blue Belts. They are pretty lost when we do free-rolling. I'm sure they could use some assistance, too.

Not too much to do just for myself.

If I pass and earn my first little belt stripe, my next exam will be about two or three years away.

If I fail, I don't think I'll be trying again. I honestly think I've done about as good on this attempt as I ever will be able to do. Don't think I'd try again.

Either way, from now until Christmas it will be relaxing training.

After Christmas it's off to LA for a couple of months to train at the HQ Gracie school. Passing or failing won't change this, but will determine what I get to work on while there.

Goes without saying I'd rather pass.

Last Part

Last night my Jiu-Jitu training partner went through her exam routine. I was the dummy, and got generally chucked about and mushed.

She did as perfect as any human being could, but even so she wanted to give it another shot. I think she was unhappy with some teensy mistake.

Off we went again. It just didn't have the pizazz of the first go. No problem; our instructor said he'd review both recordings and send in the better one.

Madeline is all done.

I used today to get myself ready. Tomorrow it's my test, and I get to chuck her around.

I'd say I can pull off three attempts at getting a good recording before fatigue makes further effort counter-productive.

My best run is always when I'm freshest. Hopefully, I can stick-the-landing with the very first try. If it's good, I will NOT make another attempt.

Madeline will be totally finished, but I will still have two sparring sections to record. They are a mere 5 minutes each, and are something we do all the time.

When our instructor gets back from Mexico early in December, I can bang out my final, short recordings. It will all get submitted at that time.

Results can take anywhere from one to three weeks to get back.

Passing would be very Christmassy.

Ahead of plan

The test is weirdly difficult. When you feel ready, you shouldn't delay. You need to go for it, as the feeling can easily pass. Peaking and not giving it a shot would not feel good.

We both want to be done by Saturday. As Madeline is ahead of me in the queue she needs to try and finish Friday.

I have been hoping that she'd even make a first attempt after class on Thursday. She's good enough that a single attempt might get the job done.

Today is Wednesday. We worked for about an hour on the test material, and she announced that she wanted to start tonight.

The only thing that prevented it was the camera wasn't present. Instead, the instructor had us perform the test section in front of the class. Madeline was outstanding, and no flaws were detected.

The camera promised it would be there tomorrow. She will get it on the first attempt.

I will need a bit of warm-up time. For the last few days I've been learning to be a fabulous partner. This isn't exactly the same as getting ready to do the test myself.

Likely we'll get an hour or so after Madeline's test to focus on me. It's her brother's birthday Friday, and she'd love to be able to spend it with him. I have no problem with this, as I'll be happy to work on my stuff another day. Maybe I can get somebody to show up and help me. I can do it without Madeline, but a live buddy would be useful.

That saves Saturday for recording my test.

I'm feeling so good about it, I wouldn't be surprised to nail it on the first try, too.

Contrast

There are two of us with only a single part of our Jiu-Jitsu exam to finish this week.

Madeline is blowing the whole thing away. If she keeps performing as she has been, there is no possibility of a failing grade.

It is harder for me. In the three test sections we've been plowing through, a candidate is permitted a total of 20 demerits. These are given for any variation from acceptable technique.

I think I did pretty good on test section one. We recorded my second section on Monday. It was probably OK, but there were errors. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever be able to do it better. That test section is just a killer.

This means that I want to do very well on the part we're doing this week. That will leave more of my demerits available to keep test section two afloat.

I'm not even worrying about the three sparring sections of the exam. Madeline has finished all of her's, and I have two to go. Those can be banged off in one evening anytime.

This is an extremely difficult examination process.

The most annoying part is that at the HQ Gracie School, there are no exams at all. There the ranks are awarded once a student has put in enough time if they are good enough. Their instructors are the same ones who authorize our promotions. Down there they have intimate knowledge of the students and exams are not necessary.

They don't know us at all. So we take exams.

Crushingly difficult exams.

Mo' 'structors

Our local Jiu-Jitsu school is undergoing a positive evolution.

Up until now, the burden of instruction has had to fall on only one person. It isn't unusual for him to teach four classes a night. He also can't be sick or injured.

Right now, three of the advanced students are enrolled in the Gracie University program for instructor certification. They should be official instructors early in 2014.

This will make it possible for the teaching load to be shared.

There is also excellent potential around here for satellite training locations. This hasn't been possible, but soon will be.

We live on a 50 mile stretch of coastline that can only be reached by ferry. Our current school is located at one end road in the town of Gibsons, which is one of two towns. The other town is located in the middle, and has a little bit larger population.

Only a handful of people make the drive from the larger town to the Jiu-Jitsu school. Sechelt (my town's name) could support a second academy every bit as substantial as the first. A second school here has been an ambition of our instructor for quite a while.

All it will take now is for one or more of the new teachers to go for it. Likely, things would have to start small and grow over time.

For me it's too late. I'll continue my training with our current instructor, Shawn Phillips. I enjoy his personality and style, and he's the only one who can teach at my level.

A little driving is good for the soul.

Fight Saturday

This coming Saturday there is going to be a free-TV UFC fight that I'm dying to see. It isn't for a title, but is chock full of interesting angles.

Lyoto Machida used to be the UFC Light Heavyweight champion. Unlike most fighters, he's always fought at the weight he actually is.

The cut off for that division is 206 pounds. His normal weight is in the 200-205 pound range, so he never has to cut weight. This puts him at a big size disadvantage when competing against others in that division. The current champ, Jon Jones walks around weighing 230 pounds. When he has a fight scheduled he loses weight normally, and then cuts perhaps the last ten pounds by sweating it out. In the 24 hours between the weigh-in and the actual bout, he gains this all back. He steps in to the ring at about 215.

Size isn't everything, but between two equally talented and trained fighters it can be the tipping factor.

Machida is probably the only guy in any division to actually fight at his weight.

He's decided to change this, and has accepted a fight in the 186 pound Middleweight division.

For this fight, he'll be facing Mark Munoz. Munoz is the Middleweight division's number 5 ranked fighter. My coincidence, Lyoto Machida is the number 5 ranked Light Heavyweight.

Their martial arts backgrounds couldn't be more different. Munoz was a top-level wrestler, and Machida is a Karate guy. Both have cross-trained extensively, but it could be a classic grappler versus striker match-up.

Another twist is that Munoz, although a wrestler, has a weak submission game. To try and remedy this, he's recently been training at the headquarters Gracie Academy in Los Angeles. Another guy training there to improve his Jiu-Jitsu skills is Lyoto Machida.

The two guys have been training together for the last while under Ryron and Rener Gracie, the eldest grandsons of the founder of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. I assume they stopped being training partners once they found out about the fight.

Ryron Gracie will be in Mark Munoz's corner, while Rener Gracie will corner Lyoto Machida.

I can't wait, and it's free.

Baby

Madeline and I have been partners in preparing for, and performing, our Jiu-Jitsu exams. We're both operating under time constraints. This seriously sucks.

Her situation is much worse than mine. Our instructor is flying off to Mexico for over a month. I think the last day we can record any test material with him will be Saturday. By the time he gets back, Madeline will have moved to Calgary and she won't see him again. If she isn't finished by Saturday, we'll have record her test without our instructor being present. Technically this is possible, but would be extremely dicey.

This means we've got only this week to get Madeline's last test segment finished.

I have more stuff to finish, but also potentially more time. I have two technical sections and two sparring segments to compete. If I don't finish by Saturday, I could try without the instructor, or could wait for his return.

My own deadline is really anytime before Christmas.

The problem is I'm a big baby and want it done now. Well, not now exactly. I want it done by Saturday, the same as Madeline.

Actually, I don't need it all done. I don't mind if I still have sparring to complete. That takes no time at all, and doesn't require massive amounts of memorization.

What I'm shooting for is completion of my two technical sections this week. Really it's only one, if I can get this week's test recorded successfully. I had a couple of shots at it today, but blew both. I get to try again Monday.

With that out of the way, Madeline and I can work hard on the final part and get that into the bag.

I'm going to spend the next two days memorizing the sequence as deeply as I can. I want the video done successfully on the first attempt Monday, leaving us the rest of the mat time to get ready to move on.

And then we find out if HQ thinks we're good enough.

Three Weeks

Last week we concentrated all our training on exam review. It was the easiest part of the test, and we already knew it quite well. When we couldn't work together, we worked on our own. Madeline and I both successfully recorded our performance on Saturday of the first week.

This week the material is much, much harder, and there is more of it. This is the hardest part of the exam.

Again, we worked together as much as possible, and alone when we couldn't. Thursday I was in the hospital getting a gastroscopy and a colonoscopy, and still made it to the evening's training. I had to.

Today is Friday, and we had time for two attempts at making a successful recording. Madeline went first with me as her partner. We made it through everything without a major mistake. There were a couple of minor ones, so our instructor decided it wasn't acceptable.

No big deal. We took about ten minutes to recover, and did it all over again.

This time I made a significant error, but Madeline handled it without missing a beat. We made it almost to the end of the exam sequence, and Madeline made a test-stopping mistake.

We were out of time.

We meet again tomorrow to continue the effort. Our instructor has family commitments, so we can only have him for an hour. That's enough time for three attempts, tops.

Madeline is very good. I am confident she will get it done, perhaps with a single attempt. Even so, the chance of me producing a successful effort within the remaining time are quite slim.

We have arranged more mat time on Monday, to either finish recording this week's segment, or to start working on the final technical section.

Again, we practice all week and do the recordings on Friday and Saturday.

There has to be a better way.

Scrunchies

On the TV show called The Ultimate Fighter there are always a bunch of fighters divided into two teams. They then train and live together for the season, with elimination fights throughout the season. They almost never show anything of interest in any of the training sessions.

I'm sure good technical stuff is being worked on, but that probably would be dull to film. What mostly gets shown is cardio stuff.

This week's episode is different.

Let me describe the situation. For the first time there are both male and female fighters. The opposing coaches are the current women's champ, and the contender she's facing in December. All the fighter are experienced as well.

This time it was the Champ, Ronda Rousey, showing her team a different way of moving when you are down on the mat.

Try it. Lay down on your back. Lift both arms and legs off the ground. They are not allowed to ever touch down. Now, quickly move around the room. Does much happen?

Ronda demonstrated moving fast in all four directions.

Her team all try. Most barely move, some not at all. They are all highly conditioned and highly trained, but can barely do it at all.

One of them calls their coach, “a Judo wizard.”

She is so far above all of them it's unbelievable.

I think she called the method, “scrunchies.”

Separate Partners

There was no chance.

On Saturday Madeline and I finished the first big part of our Jiu-Jitsu exams. We then moved into prep for the second part. It needs to be finished a week after the last one.

We both have weak spots in the material we're covering, and need to memorize the sequence of the 61 techniques. The coming deadline did not feel comfortable at all.

We made plans to meet on the mat Monday, and would be at class for several hours together on Tuesday. My medical thing will keep me away Wednesday and Thursday. We'll be working together again on Friday...and then it's already Saturday and test time.

Clearly we would have to put in tons of effort when separate. We'd have to get ourselves ready, and then use the time together to weave our movements together.

I put in the effort reviewing at home on the weekend, and we got together Monday. It went well, but it also became clear how big the task actually is.

Today it's Tuesday, and I just got home after the last training we'll have together until Friday. It really seemed to come together. There is still a ways to go, but I feel much better about the entire situation.

Lots of solo review still to do, and then we'll work together Friday. I wouldn't be surprised if we're feeling so good about our readiness that we record an attempt that evening. Saturday for sure.

We'll get it done on time, and then there's only one big test segment to do the next week.

It's a long road.

Another Gender Issue

There are an awful lot of MMA fighters that I don't think very highly of, and my new least-favorite is Fallon Fox.

She's a 145 pounder, and is 38 years of age. She only started fighting last year. This is darn ancient to be starting out in any sport, let alone a combat one. You'd think I'd be rooting for her, but I'm not.

She was born with the name Boyd Burton. Back then she was a he. Boyd knew he was either transgender, or possibly gay when he was young, but still married a girl when he was 19. He promptly fathered a son who is now in his late teens. In 2006 Boyd Burton underwent surgery to alter his physical gender.

None of this is my business, and if Fallon were a private citizen I would have no opinion to express about it. I also wouldn't mind if she were a public person if her chosen career were something like acting, politics, or music. It is, however, sport.

And not just any sport. While a transgender athlete may or may not have an advantage in say, tennis. There would be no danger to the opposing participants. She actually chose to enter the world of MMA.

I don't know of anybody who advocates women and men of the same size fighting one another. In the recent season of the show The Ultimate Fighter the participants are of both genders and all in the 135 pound category. The men and women only fight within their gender, but they train side by side. As skillful and hard hitting as the women are, the men are just as talented and pack more muscle and bone.

I don't think transgender people should fight in the women's divisions, but maybe I'm wrong. The rules currently state that the transformation cannot be merely surgical, but must also be accompanied by a minimum of two years of hormone therapy. Maybe this evens things out.

I decided to watch Fallon Fox's three MMA fights if I could find them online. The first of these she won by TKO in the first round. I couldn't find video of this one, or even a write up.

In the second match, she looked awkward as her opponent outclassed her in skill. Then, 39 seconds into the match she grabbed her opponent's head with both of her hands, pushed down hard and drove up her knee. The other girl dropped like a stone. A valid technique, but a strength-based one.

In her third fight, it went almost three full rounds. The two participants seemed evenly matched overall, with the skill advantage NOT in Fallon's corner. Finally, Fallon got on top of her opponent, put her knee on the other girl's neck, and crushed. A tap-out victory, again with a strength technique. I have never seen that same crush ever applied in MMA before.

So Fallon Fox, the 38 year-old fighter with male DNA, finally got major air time this month at an event held in Coral Gables, Florida for some rinky-dink “World Title”. She would be facing Ashlee Evans-Smith, a 26 year-old fighter with a 1-0 professional record. (Evans-Smith also has an amateur record of 5-4; even less inspiring than her tiny pro record)

The betting line had Evans-Smith a 5-1 underdog.

Turns out that Ashlee Evans-Smith comes from a wrestling background and trained with a male team. She would be quite used to going all out with her wrestling teammates and most of them would have been double her size and strength. Her punching is also top notch and highly trained.

In skill, she made Fallon Fox look like a joke. Fallon's strength-based take downs were useless against Evans-Smith. While nowhere near as skilled as Evans-Smith in striking, she was clearly still able to hit much harder. This made the first round fairly even.

The second round was perfect.

Evans-Smith dominated the first minute. Fox tries to muscle her down, but can't, and Evans-Smith is beating her up. Then Evans-Smith takes Fallon to the canvas with an adroitly applied trip. Fox is on her back for a long time. At first she is unable to get up, and then unwilling. Finally she gets up and Evans-Smith blitzes her with a barrage of punches. Fallon grabs Evans-Smith in headlock, and manages to bull her over with a hip toss....which Evans-Smith turns into a re-roll and ends up on top. Evans-Smith is in total control for the remainder of the fight. Things with Evans-Smith sitting on Fallon Fox's chest landing punch after punch. The ref stops it. Everybody thinks it's a TKO, but the crowd was going so crazy that neither the fighters nor the ref could hear the timekeeper banging like a madman on the bell. The round had already ended, so the fight wasn't over.

Round three

Fox seems to have recovered, and takes Ashlee-Smith down, and then dominates in the clinch when they are back on their feet. Ashlee-Smith then takes Fallon down with a beautiful technique, and then has to avoid a heal hook. She gets on top again and pounds away at Fallon Fox's head and body. She lands about a billion unanswered strikes until the ref stops the action....again.

TKO. Both in the fight and likely to Fallon Fox's career as well.

What if a seriously skilled fighter who is male, and who isn't already an old man, changes his gender?

Should he/she be permitted to fight as a woman?

One Down

Part one is done for both Madeline and for me. The video still has to checked by our instructor, but he says it looks good.

Now we have to polish up the harder second part of our Jiu-Jitsu exams. Not only is this one harder overall, we haven't yet worked on it all that much. We've been focused on part one.

We plan on getting together to train Monday.

Tuesday we'll both be at class, stealing minutes when the White Belts are working on their stuff. We also grab every minute between the White and Blue classes.

Wednesday and Thursday I won't be able to attend class. I have a medical thing at the hospital and will be out of action. No practice for those two days.

Friday there is a chunk of time available before the Hapkido class takes over the mat. I assume we'll be hard at it every second.

Monday will be an hour or so of training time, Tuesday half as much, and Friday will be an hour and a half. That's only three hours total. That won't be enough make us really smooth.

On Saturday we both want to test.

Maddie might be ready by then. She's gifted at Jiu-Jitsu.

I am not, and will need a lot more work.

Let's see. I could put in an hour on my basement mat each day. None on my medical days, of course. That would give me maybe five hours more review.

That might be just enough to get my second 15-minute test section ready.

Progress?

So how is the testing all going?

Well, Madeline did two of her sparring sections this week and both were good. I had three of mine videod, but only one is worth keeping.

Today, Madeline started started on her first technical section.

About ten minutes in, Madeline's partner made a small error which confused her and brought everything to a halt.

After a short break, she went again. This time she went for about 15 minutes, and was only a couple of movements from the end before her partner screwed up again.

I felt like crap as I was her partner.

That was all the time we had, as a class was about to start on the mat.

We meet again tomorrow for her third attempt. If successful, I then try and do the same exam part with her as my partner. She won't screw up for me at all, and I don't mind if I mess up on my own test.

Then we have to get ready to do the whole thing two more times in the next two weeks. This week's stuff is the material we are both the most confident with. The rest will take a ton of work to get ready. We will also be much more likely to make errors.

I've decided not to the last two sparring segments until after all the hard parts of the test are complete. The sparring is pretty intense, and there is a small chance of injury. Injury could interfere with either practice or with being able to test. Gonna do them last. I won't roll in class either, at least not with any intensity at all.

This coming week I'll be short two training days as I am getting a routine colonoscopy. How much fun does that sound?

Tiny Test

I've done a lot of exams in my life. None has ever been anywhere near as difficult

as the one I'm in right now.

University math, physics, history, or even Karate exams; nothing is even close.

What makes it so hard?

Let's look at the first part of it. There are 51 items to perform. Each is a sequence of movements. There can be no hesitation; every body part must perform exactly as required. There is also a partner to perform everything on. The candidate’s movements must correctly interpret their partner's movements, even if they are out of place.

In theory, the maximum time to perform part one is 15 minutes. In reality, it is more like 14 as there is a bunch of mandatory audio that has to be included. That works out to about 15 seconds to perform each of the 51 items. It is doable, but there is no lolling about or thinking time at all.

The second test part has more material to perform, and the third slightly less.

In all of this, the candidate is permitted a maximum of 20 demerits. The smallest hesitation, wrong grip, hand angle, or anything else draws a demerit.

At my Shotokan Karate Black Belt exam, there were three parts with pauses in between during which the candidate would stand waiting, and resting. Adding together all of the moving time, and it was maybe 15 minutes, tops; and there were two rest pauses of about 30 seconds when recovery was possible.

Each of the Jiu-Jitsu exam's first three parts is just as physically intense and draining as my entire Black Belt exam.

I don't know if it all requites more brain power than a university exam, but try doing calculus with somebody on top of you, as you squirm side-to-side, with the intensity of a footrace.

That covers the first three parts.

The final three section are blessedly only five minutes each. They involve sparring. With a weak opponent the expectation on the candidate is much higher. With a tough opponent, more leeway is given. The opponent is expected to do their best. These are marked on a pass/fail basis depending on the candidate’s use of appropriate technique.

These are much easier.

Each of the 6 sections is recorded, and bundled off to the Gracie University website for evaluation.

The only thing that makes it possible is that the sections can be performed as many times as desired until the candidate and their instructor is content with the result. This was all taken into consideration when the system was set up. This is why only 20 demerits are permitted.

I hate the bloody thing.

17 or less

Last night I started my Jiu-Jitsu exam. There are six parts, and one is over.

That means I'm 17% done. That sounds like a significant chunk to me.

Unless you don't count it as one part done out of six, but rather 5 minutes finished out of 60. The test parts are not all of the same length. That means I'm only 8% complete. That's a lot less.

Unless you consider that the part I've finished is not only one of the short parts, it's also only half as difficult to perform as the longer sections. Rating it and the other sparring sections as only half as significant per minute of performance, I'm under 5% done.

Over 95% to go.

That sucks.

Three Week Testing Trap

There is a trap waiting to spring on Madeline and I in our Gracie Jiu-Jitsu exams.

To get it finished before our instructor is unavailable is an important goal. It wouldn't be impossible to perform the exam without him, but much harder.

To get done in time, we have to finish the six exam segments in the next three weeks. That seems so easy. Three fifteen-minute technical drills, and three five-minute sparring demonstrations. We will be starting on the sparring this week.

The danger is in testing too slowly. Let's say Madeline and I get the first of the sparring sessions done. Let's say each of us need three attempts to get good recordings. That's 30 minutes of sparring time each. Add in breaks, and discussion, and setup, and it's easily a full hour. We will be exhausted by the end, and have eaten up a lot of mat time that is normally used for other training.

There is a very good chance that we'll all be happy with having completed that much for the week.

There's the trap. One test segment per week isn't enough. We must complete a minimum of two, especially if they are sparring segments. The sparring segments only take five minutes per attempt, and are marked on a pass/fail basis. The technical sections are fifteen minutes long per attempt and are precisely marked on all movements. As a result they will likely require more do-overs to be as perfect as we can make them.

In my previous example, a sparring segment was completed with one hour of effort. Getting a technical segment done with only three attempts each would burn three times as much effort and time. They are an entirely different kind of beast.

This is where the trap turns grizzly-bear deadly; with steel teeth dipped in poison.

Actually, even if we completed all three of the sparring segments this week we will have already fallen behind.

If we each do three sparring segments this week, and a technical one next week, and another technical one the week after, we will run out of time with one technical segment left to go.

I'd say we must beat down a technical segment every week to get this done. The sparring is almost insignificant. We could knock of one of those each week as well, or even do them all this week. In terms of difficulty, effort and time they are relatively trivial.

Must bang off a technical section every week to finish on time.

OMG

The Jiu-Jitsu exams for my training partner and me just got a lot harder.

Today is October 4^th, and we're working to get ready to start the testing process.

Now it turns out our instructor will be gone from October 28^th until some time in December. I want my exam done before Christmas, and Madeline will likely be moving away sometime in November and needs it finished even earlier.

The question becomes, “how much can we complete before he leaves.” Anything we don't finish by then, we'll have to do while he's away.

That is a terrifying prospect.

OK, calm down. Think it through.

We could both be ready for the first of the three technique sections this week if we work at it. We can also perform the three sparring sections anytime. All we need is the mat time when we can film. It is possible we could be done those parts within a week.

That leaves two technique sections to get ready, and to record. They are nowhere near to being ready, so will take significant effort to prepare. I'm confident mine will be ready whenever I need them to be. I'm a retired guy, after all. Madeline has a lot more demands on her time. Maybe she can do it, or maybe she cannot.

If we have to test and record any parts without our instructor, we will have no experienced eye telling us when an attempt needs a do-over, or when it's good enough. It isn't impossible, but it is extremely daunting.

I guess it will make us prouder of success.

Closer

Things have been kinda fuzzy around here date-wise.

I do have a Jiu-Jitsu exam to do, and we are going to visit friends in Vernon, and we are going to Victoria for Christmas, and we are going to LA in January. That has been set for a while, but except for Xmas, nothing has been tacked to specific calendar dates.

Today things have firmed up some. Still don't know when my test will be done, but it can't possibly be before the end of this month. That means we've been able to tell our Vernon homies that we will NOT be there before November.

Christmas will, of course, be someplace around December 25^th, so that's easy.

Regarding LA, I've contacted Gracie Jiu-Jitsu HQ about that. I asked a few questions about fees, and what kind of gi they permit. This all makes it seem more real.

Colds and such

Finished my last technique unit after 15 or 16 months of training, and I immediately fell apart.

Let's list the problems from least important to most in regards to training.

I have managed somehow to sprain a thumb. Who ever sprains their thumb? It makes gripping a little uncomfortable with my right hand. I don't push it hard, so in rolling I can only cling hard with my other hand. No big deal. Might be if I get it yanked on too hard. Score: no change to training.

Next up is my shoulder. I must have slept a little funny, as it's stiff and cranky. Who gets hurt sleeping? It's on the left side, so it balances out my stupid thumb in a weird way. I have two arms that each have their own arguments against hard training.

The big problem has nothing to do with body structure. Woke up yesterday with some kind of virus. I'll call it a cold. I should probably take it easy. Getting exhausted might slow my return to full health. Being an idiot I would ignore this and push through if that were the only problem. The issue is that I am a bundle of contagiousness. I'd feel rotten if I passed this on to my mat mates, so I'm off training.

The cold hadn't hit Monday, so I trained. Yesterday I sat out, but watched and tried to absorb anyhow; better than nothing. Today, I have to lead the high school club, but that's the only time I'll be in action.

Not going to the White Belt class at all, but will still attend the advanced session. Might as well, as I'd only be home watching TV otherwise. This way I watch Jiu-Jitsu instead.

The good news is that this can't be an ordinary cold, as it already seems to be fading away. Maybe I'll be training later this week. That will also give my shoulder and thumb a chance to simmer down, too.

Cough, cough...

Fight Juicier

I'm all for safety, and even sometimes for sanity; even safety and sanity in sport.

Mma is a dangerous sport, and kinda crazy. Of course there is the obvious, but the real problem is hidden.

A fighter recently died of a stroke at the weigh in for a fight in Brazil. This was a direct result of dehydration caused by cutting weight.

Fighters in combat sports do this all the time. They are divided into different weight divisions, and consider it an advantage to fight smaller competitors. The UFC welterweight champion Georges St Pierre theoretically weighs 170 pounds, but his everyday weight is over 20 pounds heavier.

The problem is the ritual called the weigh-in. The two competitors meet 24 hours before their fight and are put on the scale by fight or government officials. They only have to make the weight limit at precisely that time. They are also given a one pound leeway over the limit anyhow.

The way they get around the weigh in limitation is that they dehydrate themselves to varying degrees. Let's say a fighter is 20 pounds over their weight limit. They have to shed this by temporarily losing 9 liters of water. This is not a normal behavior. Your body isn't built to be short 9 liters of fluid. They do this in the 24 hours prior to the weigh in.

Simply not drinking won't do it. They also have to sweat it out using heat and exercise.

That's what killed the fighter I mentioned before who died in Brazil. Three college wrestlers in the USA died in 1997 cutting weight. UFC top contender Daniel Cormier gave himself kidney failure a few months ago cutting weight.

There seems to be a problem.

Problems need solutions, especially if they are easy.

American college wrestling moved their weigh ins to right before the matches. A fighter could still dehydrate themselves, but they would then have to compete in that state. It takes time for a human body to recover from that. College wrestlers also have to weigh in throughout the season a couple of times a week. If they want to fight lighter, they actually have to be lighter.

So why doesn't mma do this? Simple; it could cost big money. What would happen if a championship super fight competitor failed to make weight? The business interests will never allow this to happen.

So why not insist mma fighters weigh in periodically? There are just too many fighters, living and training in too many places, to police effectively.

What I think needs to happen is that the UFC needs to lead by example. They have to ignore the problem in the rest of the mma world, and fix it it within their own organization.

Step 1: the 250-300 fighters under UFC contract should have regularly scheduled weigh-ins. If their weight drifts up more than 5% above the division's weight limit, they automatically become registered in the next heavier division. They would have to make a certain number of weigh ins within a lower division's limit to move down a category. No big deal if they accidentally slip above their allowed weight, if they can get back down again after a couple of months maintaining the level.

Step 2: UFC fighters with upcoming fights have to start making their division's exact weight limit and having more frequent scheduled weigh ins. No more 5% leeway. There should be penalties for failure to make weight.

Step 3: The official weigh in ritual happens 24 hours before the fight, and a final time one hour before the match.

No more dehydration. No more related dangers. There would also be an added benefit in fighters competing against people actually the same size.