Two Rolls and a Leg

The other day on my blog I complained about my rolling getting all tight and my losing the flow.

Last night, I only rolled twice, but both were much, much better.

The first was with Robert. He's really strong, and skillful. At the best of times things with him can get competitive. Last night, no hint of that. We both seemed to want to do stuff, and it went really, really well.

The second roll was with Koko. Those are always good, and last night was no exception. The closest we got to being stuck was when she would get side control on me, and we'd battle for my less exposed arm. She tries everything to trap it under her shin bones, and I try and get it far south to facilitate my escapes. It probably looks like she's trying to kill me, as I'm having some kind of seizure. It's fun, and useful, and we really aren't stuck in any fashion.

Two rolls isn't really a very large sample to draw conclusions from, but I was very pleased.

The bad news is that earlier in the class, we were doing a complex standing sequence that ended with any of a half-dozen leg reaping takedowns. I don't like drills with that many steps, as most of what I'm doing is trying to remember the sequence. For me, about three steps is a good maximum.

Anyhow, my partner and I were taking turns, when something weird happened during a takedown. Upon ground impact, my leg got hit hard. My calf muscle must have gotten injured, as it promptly went into full spasm.

It took a while to get it relaxed enough that I could stand, but it still hurt like the dickens.

Luckily, sparring was next, and our instruction was to start in closed guard. That meant I didn't have to stand, and so could participate. If I hadn't been able to, I wouldn't have had those two great rolls.

Today, I have my calf wrapped up to keep it warm, and am taking mild muscle relaxants to lesson the tightness of the spasm. No problem sitting in my poofy chair, but walking is interesting.

Pity it's Canada Day, and Helen has her heart set on going to the parade. Oh, well. Limping is always an option.

Open-mat time starts at 4pm, and will run for a couple of hours. A good thing about Jiu-Jitsu is that training can be done without any standing around or walking being necessary.

Both Robert and Nathan have said they'll be there and that they want to roll. Koko wants to work on side-mount, and there is a good chance that even more people will show up.

Like me.