This is (surprisingly) a BJJ related post, and others who do the aforementioned art/sport will associate the title with impending crush-edness (or a need to escape early/reguard if you're good enough). However, this post is less to do with actual rolling and more to do with my own state of mind in being one of the 'top dogs' (or Big Fishes) at a club and having some newer guy begin to seriously kick your arse.
Our club is a relatively young one, mostly white belts, about 10 blues and a couple of purples. I'm the longest standing blue, mostly due to the everso typical (so I understand) blue belt drop-off that has knocked out a couple of others who were 'ahead' of me.
My 'problem' (until very recently) has been with a guy who has been training half as long as I have, but who is much more gifted in the picking up of BJJ awesomeness. He recently got his blue (in just over half the amount of time I did) and seems on his way to get his purple in a relatively short time as well. He has immeasurably more time on his hands to train, is very smart and has that damnedly horrible ability to pick up techniques and concepts the moment he sees or hears about them. He seems to have a direct line between his retinas and his body in a way that I've never seen before. He's also a bigger guy, closer to my own weight (but much more athletic) than the purples in the club who are lighter than me...
I am also a plodder. It takes me some time to get stuff ingrained and it's only through regular drilling of stuff that I've gotten anywhere. Even though I've been blessed with some truly awesome training partners who have lifted my game and given me a lot of motivation, I am resigned to a 'normal' progression though the belts. This means that although I had a good head start on him, now that he's catching (caught?) me, it's only a matter of time before he's much better than I am.
In a bigger club, without my status as one of the 'seniors' to worry about, this guy getting his purple ahead of me would be no problem (or less of a problem? Maybe?). However, I have had to battle myself and my ego in the last few months in the realisation that not only had this guy almost 'caught up' to me in ability/knowledge etc. but he was now on his way to surpassing me.
I was just getting settled into the mode of 'getting passed' (a mental side control if you will). While I would attempt to re-guard, stay on my side, provide a challenge to this guy as he took my space as the 'top' blue, I had come to some acceptance that this was what had happened and not pretending it was otherwise.
And then like a bolt from the blue, this guy announces he's leaving the club.
I'm now in a strange place, one that I wasn't expecting... and the overwhelming emotion has not been relief (which knowing how selfish I am would have been what I would have expected), but a form of grief.
This guy challenged me, he pushed me in ways that others weren't. His guard confounded me in ways no-one else's has. My passing is better, my flow is better, my overall BJJ is better... because of his place in the club. While he was on his way to surpassing me (and probably still will, just in another club), by virtue of doing what he was doing he had helped make the surpassing more difficult for himself, by helping others like myself get better.
It's too early to tell what sort of impact this will have on the club and my own training, but it really feels like someone has passed my guard, then gotten off me and walked away.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Beer
I really like beer, but not all beer.
I really like good quality, craft beer. I try to pretend this isn't about pretensiousness or elitism, but I really can't maintain that pretence without degenerating into ridiculousness...
Mainstream breweries tend to be pitching at mediocrity in order to maximise profits and in doing so produce a pretty awful 'standard' across the board. What is worse is when they make all sorts of claims (both implicit and explicit) about the quality and comparisons to be made with their beers (as an example, Macs trying to set up Belgian (style) Beer Cafes with their horrible attempts at 'wheat beers' and 'pilsners' OR Tui claiming to be a Pale Ale).
In saying this I need to recognise that beer is an acquired taste, and when you're mostly drinking it for its alcoholic effects (as many NZers are), having it ice cold and uninspiring is probably what the majority of the market is looking for. In contrast, I like my beers bitter with citrusy hoppiness (that comes through in taste and aroma) and a good balance of maltiness. Largely the only people making these sorts of beers are smaller breweries that haven't been taken over by the Big Two (Lion and DB) in NZ.
Craft beers (as a consequence of using high quality ingredients and not being driven by bottom lines) are relatively expensive. That's fine for me though, as I don't (can't) drink to excess anyway. Limiting myself to one or two really good beers, may be for many on the same level as much of the wank that goes on with wine tasting (but clearly without the long history of extreme wankiness because it's about beer after all). I have no problem with that.
Enjoying each beer for it's craftsmanship and quality, and the different flavours mingling and contrasting is something lost on many beer drinkers, but it's what defines my relationship with beer (the mild buzz I occasionally allow myself is only a bonus)...
So, I look forward with great excitement to Beervana in Wellington at the end of August, which may also coincide with training at the best BJJ club in the country... (almost got through a whole post without mentioning BJJ!)
Really good beer IS awesome and enjoying it rather than simply consuming it on the way to some kind of micro-oblivion is even more awesome.
I really like good quality, craft beer. I try to pretend this isn't about pretensiousness or elitism, but I really can't maintain that pretence without degenerating into ridiculousness...
Mainstream breweries tend to be pitching at mediocrity in order to maximise profits and in doing so produce a pretty awful 'standard' across the board. What is worse is when they make all sorts of claims (both implicit and explicit) about the quality and comparisons to be made with their beers (as an example, Macs trying to set up Belgian (style) Beer Cafes with their horrible attempts at 'wheat beers' and 'pilsners' OR Tui claiming to be a Pale Ale).
In saying this I need to recognise that beer is an acquired taste, and when you're mostly drinking it for its alcoholic effects (as many NZers are), having it ice cold and uninspiring is probably what the majority of the market is looking for. In contrast, I like my beers bitter with citrusy hoppiness (that comes through in taste and aroma) and a good balance of maltiness. Largely the only people making these sorts of beers are smaller breweries that haven't been taken over by the Big Two (Lion and DB) in NZ.
Craft beers (as a consequence of using high quality ingredients and not being driven by bottom lines) are relatively expensive. That's fine for me though, as I don't (can't) drink to excess anyway. Limiting myself to one or two really good beers, may be for many on the same level as much of the wank that goes on with wine tasting (but clearly without the long history of extreme wankiness because it's about beer after all). I have no problem with that.
Enjoying each beer for it's craftsmanship and quality, and the different flavours mingling and contrasting is something lost on many beer drinkers, but it's what defines my relationship with beer (the mild buzz I occasionally allow myself is only a bonus)...
So, I look forward with great excitement to Beervana in Wellington at the end of August, which may also coincide with training at the best BJJ club in the country... (almost got through a whole post without mentioning BJJ!)
Really good beer IS awesome and enjoying it rather than simply consuming it on the way to some kind of micro-oblivion is even more awesome.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Time off
I generally have to be quite fixated/passionate/obsessed about hobbies/interests in order for them to stick for any length of time. Usually one thing in particular sucks a large proportion of my mental energy and focus, often to the detriment of things like 'real work' or any other possible or existing hobbies...
My current fixation (and has been for a little over four years now) is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Although there have been minor fluctuations in my excitement, it has been the hobby type thing I have been most excited about for the longest period of time.
Whenever I've gone on holiday, no matter how obscure the location, I've tried to find somewhere to train, which has been valuable and has shaped my 'at home' training considerably. Exposure to other clubs around the world has given me access to a bunch of different styles and cultures and sometimes exciting new techniques/approaches/concepts.
As I've already mentioned, my brain has lacked awesomeness for the last few months and my BJJ has (for the most part) felt a bit stale and repetitive. While my usual path of research and trying out newer stuff has helped a bit, it wasn't doing what it used to do in the past. I was, for the first time in my BJJ experience, feeling like I was going through he motions, not just plateauing, but dipping slightly... even occasionally thinking seriously about quitting...
This last week though, I had a week long holiday without any BJJ (it didn't help that Rarotonga doesn't seem to have any???). While this would normally have been frustrating, I really quite enjoyed the time off and feel like my brain and body have been recharged considerably, even after such a short break.
Almost immediately upon returning, I attended a BJJ seminar with the very awesome John Will (with me running on only 4 hours sleep) and loved every moment of it. While the techniques weren't ultra new, some of the details and concepts were and I felt myself even more committed to my growth and continuation in this sport. While John has a lot to do with this, I think the week off prior was hugely significant in resetting me a little.
Sometimes the path of least non-awesomness in a given sphere may mean taking time off to enjoy awesomeness in another. A week in Rarotonga (even without BJJ!) was incredible and it also seems to have re-fired something in my BJJ expereince quite unexpectedly...
My current fixation (and has been for a little over four years now) is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Although there have been minor fluctuations in my excitement, it has been the hobby type thing I have been most excited about for the longest period of time.
Whenever I've gone on holiday, no matter how obscure the location, I've tried to find somewhere to train, which has been valuable and has shaped my 'at home' training considerably. Exposure to other clubs around the world has given me access to a bunch of different styles and cultures and sometimes exciting new techniques/approaches/concepts.
As I've already mentioned, my brain has lacked awesomeness for the last few months and my BJJ has (for the most part) felt a bit stale and repetitive. While my usual path of research and trying out newer stuff has helped a bit, it wasn't doing what it used to do in the past. I was, for the first time in my BJJ experience, feeling like I was going through he motions, not just plateauing, but dipping slightly... even occasionally thinking seriously about quitting...
This last week though, I had a week long holiday without any BJJ (it didn't help that Rarotonga doesn't seem to have any???). While this would normally have been frustrating, I really quite enjoyed the time off and feel like my brain and body have been recharged considerably, even after such a short break.
Almost immediately upon returning, I attended a BJJ seminar with the very awesome John Will (with me running on only 4 hours sleep) and loved every moment of it. While the techniques weren't ultra new, some of the details and concepts were and I felt myself even more committed to my growth and continuation in this sport. While John has a lot to do with this, I think the week off prior was hugely significant in resetting me a little.
Sometimes the path of least non-awesomness in a given sphere may mean taking time off to enjoy awesomeness in another. A week in Rarotonga (even without BJJ!) was incredible and it also seems to have re-fired something in my BJJ expereince quite unexpectedly...
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Lacking awesome
Right now my brain is suffering from what I can only call "lack of awesomeness". I need more awesome in my brain, but the finishing of my PhD and the lack of recovery since, has meant I've been suffering from some extreme version of ennui I'd like to refer to as Meh-nnui.
I feel like my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has suffered, my ability to enjoy the meaningless and ridiculous has fallen by the wayside somewhat and to some extent my portion/segment/half of relationships with other people are a little uneven in their awesomeness. I hope that now the evil of this semester is over that I can learn to function at higher level of general enjoyment of life.
I had a good/interesting/fun BJJ session last night and the last few social gatherings I've been to have been much more awesome than previously... Onwards!
I feel like my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has suffered, my ability to enjoy the meaningless and ridiculous has fallen by the wayside somewhat and to some extent my portion/segment/half of relationships with other people are a little uneven in their awesomeness. I hope that now the evil of this semester is over that I can learn to function at higher level of general enjoyment of life.
I had a good/interesting/fun BJJ session last night and the last few social gatherings I've been to have been much more awesome than previously... Onwards!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
