Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Sowwy
Blech, I've been a bad bad blogger. Busy work for my classes has been a distraction. I've been doing this Accreditation goo-goo ga-ga for my classes. Surveys on what I think competency of my students are. (that sentence can't be grammatically correct). I don't remember the exact name but is something to the effect of Assessment of Skills Survey...ASS. That's right someone in acadamia hates their job soooooooooooo much they consciously (or subconsciously) named a survey--one that deals specifically with accreditation of a junior college--ASS. I love it. Long live subversives
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Seminar PS
Even though 50% roll training has done right by me; I still need to throw in a few full speed rolls for fitness and adaptive purposes (tournaments, working under stress and time constraints, etc)
Seminar
It was a relaxed affair. Carlos had us do a light warm up, push ups, squats, crunches, and then we reviewed a few escapes from side control and applying the Kimora from sidecontrol and mount. He tried to structure the lesson in terms of strategy as much as technique. I can't really say how much I remembered, as my brain tends to max out around three techniques, but I think I remember the basic escapes and their moral: when in doubt use your hips and your knees. Since I tend to focus on kimora and kimora variations as my primary submission attack, it'll be interesting to see what happens at tonight's open mat.
I spent most of the session working with a child and teen from our dojo. We didn't get a lot of reps in, but really, no one did. Five reps is not a lot for anything, and I hope the four day seminar is more focused.
The dojo we trained at was huge, easily dwarfing ours. Two full sized mats, a heavy bag array, offices, and a full sized ring. Oh, and the man has his own buses, not bus, but buses, plural. Suffice to say, this is one sensai whose doing quite well for himself, economy be damned, thank you very much.
Back to the mats. At first glance I feared those mats. One set was new and shiny, the other looked positively jurassic. Big fat stegosaurus vs T-Rex old, but you know what? Despite the wrinkles and peeled patches (that reminded me of a week old sunburn) rolling on the mats was smooth.
Ah, and the rolling. I didn't get much of a workout, was a bit disappointed. I rolled with the kids, a couple of times, but they don't do much for me cardiovascularly. This was followed, by a couple of CWBs of the no gui variety. How did I know number 1 was a CWB if I didn't know him at all, and he wasn't wearing a belt? One, the excited way he ran to the mat, all legs and arms in his MMA get up (If it sounds like I'm being condescending, I'm not, the outfit was spiffy, truthfully, I liked it, the kid had spunk), and as soon as as we locked up he was stiff as a board. He went full tilt--the only way you can go when you're that stiff--and I kept it close to my habitual 50% as possible. He was looking for the kill; I was looking for position and control. I got sidecontrol, and tried to hold it as long as I could content to let my partner gas out, even though he did gas, he tapped me by way of my arch enemy the triangle (a CWB, but one who knew a few locks). I tapped him with a guillotine a little later. The second guy was larger, working on a spare tire, and since I caught him with a simple sweep, I didn't mind tapping to him; in fact, hitting the sweep felt like a bigger victory than tapping someone out. Those rolls didn't last particularly long, and my partners weren't particularly well conditioned. After spending so much time grappling behemoths, college wrestlers, and prodigies, it would appear raw physical ability just doesn't intimidate me.
A sweep is a game changer. You want to build a game around control and movement, then damn sweeps are where its at. How do you get to top from bottom? Sweep. How do you catch an MMA fighter off guard when he's committed to pounding you? Sweep. You're in a life or death scenario you're on the ground and on the bottom with one yahoo, while his buddies from the The Good Sam Club are comin' your way with glass and bad intentions? Sweep----and then run!
I spent most of the session working with a child and teen from our dojo. We didn't get a lot of reps in, but really, no one did. Five reps is not a lot for anything, and I hope the four day seminar is more focused.
The dojo we trained at was huge, easily dwarfing ours. Two full sized mats, a heavy bag array, offices, and a full sized ring. Oh, and the man has his own buses, not bus, but buses, plural. Suffice to say, this is one sensai whose doing quite well for himself, economy be damned, thank you very much.
Back to the mats. At first glance I feared those mats. One set was new and shiny, the other looked positively jurassic. Big fat stegosaurus vs T-Rex old, but you know what? Despite the wrinkles and peeled patches (that reminded me of a week old sunburn) rolling on the mats was smooth.
Ah, and the rolling. I didn't get much of a workout, was a bit disappointed. I rolled with the kids, a couple of times, but they don't do much for me cardiovascularly. This was followed, by a couple of CWBs of the no gui variety. How did I know number 1 was a CWB if I didn't know him at all, and he wasn't wearing a belt? One, the excited way he ran to the mat, all legs and arms in his MMA get up (If it sounds like I'm being condescending, I'm not, the outfit was spiffy, truthfully, I liked it, the kid had spunk), and as soon as as we locked up he was stiff as a board. He went full tilt--the only way you can go when you're that stiff--and I kept it close to my habitual 50% as possible. He was looking for the kill; I was looking for position and control. I got sidecontrol, and tried to hold it as long as I could content to let my partner gas out, even though he did gas, he tapped me by way of my arch enemy the triangle (a CWB, but one who knew a few locks). I tapped him with a guillotine a little later. The second guy was larger, working on a spare tire, and since I caught him with a simple sweep, I didn't mind tapping to him; in fact, hitting the sweep felt like a bigger victory than tapping someone out. Those rolls didn't last particularly long, and my partners weren't particularly well conditioned. After spending so much time grappling behemoths, college wrestlers, and prodigies, it would appear raw physical ability just doesn't intimidate me.
A sweep is a game changer. You want to build a game around control and movement, then damn sweeps are where its at. How do you get to top from bottom? Sweep. How do you catch an MMA fighter off guard when he's committed to pounding you? Sweep. You're in a life or death scenario you're on the ground and on the bottom with one yahoo, while his buddies from the The Good Sam Club are comin' your way with glass and bad intentions? Sweep----and then run!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Tigr's definition of privacy (adendum)
definition 2: the ability to pee in the house with the bathroom door open.
Cash Money
Endorsed THE check a few hours ago, fed ex-ing it back to my lawyer. I'm hoping to have the money by next week so I can invest it and stop worrying about the damn thing.
I'm pretty sure my uneasiness disqualifies me from the high risk tolerance category of investor. My politics are all left, but this may very well be the one issue where the words "Tigr" and "conservative" exist harmoniously.
I know what my problem is, it isn't that I don't trust someone to manage my money for me, it's that I don't trust the corporate sector to be honest about its books. I've seen Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room one too many times (they just made their profits up! how scary is that?).
I'm pretty sure my uneasiness disqualifies me from the high risk tolerance category of investor. My politics are all left, but this may very well be the one issue where the words "Tigr" and "conservative" exist harmoniously.
I know what my problem is, it isn't that I don't trust someone to manage my money for me, it's that I don't trust the corporate sector to be honest about its books. I've seen Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room one too many times (they just made their profits up! how scary is that?).
August Surprise
Carlos Machado is holding a one day seminar tomorrow (BJJ) about an hour from where I love this. This was announced five days ago. It's only 50 bucks, so a few guys from the dojo are going up. Carlos is one of the Fabulous Machado Brothers! family of bjj champions. I may have mentioned that all 5 brothers are holding a four day seminar in October (600 dollars!!! ack!). Since I'm saving money to go to that one, I figured this one day thing would be a good way to preview what's in store for me in October.
I expect a lot of basic drills, some roll time, and I hope to god no one is in the "crazy white belt" stage of development. I hate trying to go 50 percent and the other guy goes nuts. It forces me to work harder than I should, rather than focus on technique, and since I'm the little guy, I always end up on the short end of the bruise stick. (But I have learned a neat little armbar from the bottom for when the CWB tries to neck crank you--this is a good self defense armbar, as the neck crank looks very much like a choke, 'cept the hands go behind the neck instead of around it)
Hope to post thoughts on the seminar tomorrow evening--now that I'm awake and all.
"now that I'm awake and all"
(half a Joss Whedon)
I expect a lot of basic drills, some roll time, and I hope to god no one is in the "crazy white belt" stage of development. I hate trying to go 50 percent and the other guy goes nuts. It forces me to work harder than I should, rather than focus on technique, and since I'm the little guy, I always end up on the short end of the bruise stick. (But I have learned a neat little armbar from the bottom for when the CWB tries to neck crank you--this is a good self defense armbar, as the neck crank looks very much like a choke, 'cept the hands go behind the neck instead of around it)
Hope to post thoughts on the seminar tomorrow evening--now that I'm awake and all.
"now that I'm awake and all"
(half a Joss Whedon)
Phew!
Well, that was a nasty 6 weeks I hope never to revisit again. Taught my last 8 am class wed; I gave them thursday as a research day for their papers. Will they take advantage of that? One or two will, but I bet most of them slept in like I did.
I still don't know what "light and wacky" means. Hmm, "light n' wacky" the new salad dressing bottled in a giant pezz dispenser. There's something just a little bit sinister about that phrase, like Kraft branded a tiny piece of my imagination and is using me, unknowingly, to churn out exciting new flavor adventures--another phrase that sounds off. This line of verbiage is givin' me the willies!
I wonder though, in our corporatized democracy--the one that gives corporations all the benefits of bein' an individual--has a certain syntax been staked out? Shakespeare is known for enjambment, blank verse, etc. Tarantino is known for rhythmic profanity. Their style of writing is a finger print (if not them exactly then a contemporary, etc).
Light n' wacky.
flavor adventure.
Phrasing lacking in any substance, nonthreatening, ludicrous.
I still don't know what "light and wacky" means. Hmm, "light n' wacky" the new salad dressing bottled in a giant pezz dispenser. There's something just a little bit sinister about that phrase, like Kraft branded a tiny piece of my imagination and is using me, unknowingly, to churn out exciting new flavor adventures--another phrase that sounds off. This line of verbiage is givin' me the willies!
I wonder though, in our corporatized democracy--the one that gives corporations all the benefits of bein' an individual--has a certain syntax been staked out? Shakespeare is known for enjambment, blank verse, etc. Tarantino is known for rhythmic profanity. Their style of writing is a finger print (if not them exactly then a contemporary, etc).
Light n' wacky.
flavor adventure.
Phrasing lacking in any substance, nonthreatening, ludicrous.
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