It was a short week as I only sparred three days out of five (Although I showed
up every day). I was caught in a deep guillotine on Wed and has been recovering
since. Weightlifting or running had not prepared me for defending chokeholds and
therefore neck and shoulder pain might become a recurring theme until adaptation
to the new movements is complete. I have started daily drills to build up the neck.
I have met more people on the mat, including Weiqi the blackbelt and the
bluebelts Patrick, Ed, and Ernest. Physically fit, I cannot gain any advantage
with these guys and got strangled often. The 16-year-old Tadeo could easily
dominate and put me in a footlock. Iyuresh the new whitebelt was the only one I
could submit. In this game, knowledge and its execution indeed overpower raw
strength.
But interestingly, I feel no defeat at all but a privilege to gain knowledge to
a new world, just like I have felt happy to be able to learn English and expand
my horizon to the western world. It has been conquering and liberating. After
the featherweight Stephan put me in a head-and-arm choke, I was sincerely happy
that someday I could be as good as him.
My thinking has changed dramatically since my health awakening eight years ago,
not just because I have read Anti-Fragile many times but also that some of its
tenets, e.g., error is information, have felt easier to embrace as I age. After
I was caught in a chokehold in sparring, I would be more interested in knowing
the name of my opponent's move than feeling inadequate, hurt or, worse, vengeful.
Once I learnt, I'd go home and search my library for a counter, and come back
better prepared.
And there is a sense of progress as I repeat the learning cycle. In two short
weeks I have learnt to defend the bow-and-arrow choke and some cross-collar
chokes, to counter the hip-bump sweep, to escape from certain cross-side
positions, and even to apply the americana armlock successfully.
Thank You!
