Jiu-jitsu Three Years

Three years of training has licked me into BJJ shape: a muscular upper body and

a thick neck. My inner growth has just been as dramatic: at 51, I came to a

clear vision for my life and felt that I had what it takes to follow it. From

personal experience, ageing alone does not automatically bestow maturity. I

agree with some masters who said that jiu-jitsu is going to help you no matter

what you do. No. I take that back. It helps you to become more of yourself. I

was a rebel, a stoic and a taoist, a caring dad, and one who believed in

discipline and life-long learning. In every aspect, the art has made me more.

Here's what transpired in the last month.

1. The Triangle

Weichi taught triangle escapes on Thu and I really liked some of the

non-stacking approaches. I got triangled a lot but so far, my only defense was

from one Henry Akins's video but stacking could hurt my partner and I'd like to

have another option.

Sat May 4, brown belt coach Jason taught the triangle attack from de la riva and

I drilled with Nikolai. I really started to pay attention of the foot-on-the-hip

setup, which made shooting up my hips to catch his neck much easier. During the

drill, I launched my hips the moment my foot touched his hip. Coach Kevin

confirmed that it was the same with the close-guard.

2. The De La Riva Sweeps

I was impressed with the de la riva sweeps (against a standing opponent) Jason

taught the last two weeks. The next Monday, Adam taught another sweep from a

similar position. After sparring, JR showed his variation against a kneeling

opponent with one leg up. He was patient, let me drill, and pointed out many

details. I was very thankful.

I later thought of using this sweep against one in the headquarter position when

they are not pinching tight.

3. An Injury

In Tue, May 7's no-gi class, Chris caught my right arm in sparring and stretched

the elbow and hurt me for the second time. It first made me sad but then I was

convinced that the injuries were trying to tell me something. I need to study

the position and be able to defend better. I'm certainly not too old to practice

BJJ but I need to be more careful.

On the other hand, older folks like Richardo and Aikido Chris and the more

experienced guys like the coaches dominate and submit without hurting people. I

do need to stay with the right training partners.

4. The Old Gang

On Thu May 9, Facebook prompted an ad for a Sunnyvale gym and I was glad to find

that it was the old Ralph Gracie Mountain View gang: Justin the head coach,

Darren (a bluebelt at the time), John the judo guy, and Mr. Li who could climb

up the rope hung from the skylight. They since moved to Almaden and then Santa

Clara.

Its new Sunnyvale location is easier commute for me and more importantly, they

offer muay thai and judo basics which I've always wanted to learn. I dropped by

on May 15, had a class with Justin, and rolled with a few guys. What I instantly

fell in love with was the warm-up: we hip-threw each other onto a thick mat!

5. Back on the Mat

My right elblow was still not 100% but my body felt what a python must have an

itch to move. Coming back to the mat on Thursday (May 16) was sweet. Open-mat

Friday, I rolled with five guys, learned from Weichi about the invert: let your

hand guide your body, and from Chris: the bottom arm to block my partner for a

Granby roll from the turtle. And the next morning came the memory of Henry's

technique to get out of north-south bottom by swinging the legs. I did the

leg-swing drill every day but when Pete told me that was his worst position I

didn't remember it on the spot.

That led to the re-discovery of Henry. The moves that I couldn't carry out two

years ago and were since forgotten suddenly appeared in a new light! I need to

give his courses a once-over and re-learn.

6. Weichi's Leg-attack Game

The last two weeks of May, Weichi taught leg attacks and I felt lucky to learn

especially about the k-guard, the honeyhole, and the 50-50 positions.