Ouch.

I don't plan on anyone reading this, it's mostly for my own benefit. If a training partner misses a class, I might provide them with the link to this log.
It's been about 6 months since I've last trained. Although I'm technically a blue belt, I feel like a white belt again. All of my explosiveness is gone. I find myself unable to think strategically. I'm too shocked as to how weak I've become. I was rolling against a white belt who had a habit of stretching his arms out at me. I wanted to jump into an armbar from sitting guard and mount so bad, but I just felt completely powerless. I can no longer throw my body weight around like its nothing. To remedy this: kettlebells, yoga's crow pose, pull ups, chin ups and dips, walking a balance beam with hands only (?), and so forth. Neck is sore, unsure if its bone or muscle soreness. Neck strengthening exercises necessary as well.

03/22/11
The class was led by Gilbert "Durinho" Burns. Andre was present and assisting the instruction as well. To my surprise, the number 1 pound-for-pound female MMA fighter, Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, was also in attendance. There were about eight students there.

First, Durinho demonstrated a half guard pass. I'll be providing detailed descriptions of the techniques learned. It's difficult to put into words, but it forces me to run through it in my head which really helps me retain the information. So, if you intend to pass to your left, thrust their thigh up onto your right shoulder. Lock it in place by gripping their oposite lapel near their stomach; don't stretch your arm higher toward their neck. You want their leg secured in a circle formed by your shoulder, forearm reaching across to their lapel, neck and head turning toward the encircled leg. As you trap their leg, reach your left arm down and grab their pants above their knee, toward the outside of their leg. Remember to stay on your toes and place all of your weight on their chest. Sandwich their passing-side leg between your legs, straightening their leg and pinning it to the mat. While maintaining the "sandwich pin," walk on your toes toward your right side. Once you've rotated to the right enough, they'll no longer be able to maintain their hook. Cross your right leg over to pass the guard. Take their leg off your right shoulder and assume a proper side control position, locking their hips to prevent them from hip escaping. Lastly, bring your left arm up under their head and arm to prepare for the next sequence.

The following technique is a fairly simple way to take the back from side control. As you pass and reach under their head and arm with your left, or passing-side arm, crush their shoulder with your chest, forcing their upper arm to the mat into a position where you can grab it with your left arm. With your free hand, form a kimura-style grip on the arm you've snatched in the previous step. Next, plant your left foot, or the foot closest to your partner's head, on the mat. Rotate approximately 45 degrees on the ball of your foot and your knee to the right, toward your partner. This action should force him to sit up. As he does, firmly place your chin over their right shoulder, simultaneously placing your planted foot into a hook position. Andre pointed out that if you can place your hook in over their arm, it's very advantageous. As you fall back and "open him up," get your remaining hook. Move your right hand from holding your own wrist in a kimura grip to holding his wrist. This frees up your left hand to snake into their collar while you slide the back of your right hand behind their neck. Your right arm should remain under theirs as you do this.

Coming away from the training session, I feel blessed that I'm able to train with such high calliber practitioners. I really appreciated that we drilled the techniques at least 20-30 times. In the past, I've had trouble retaining specific details because we were limited to just ~5 or so repetitions before sparring. As I drilled the half-guard pass with Durinho, a quarter-sized piece of skin peeled off of the bottom of each of my big toes. I suppose that's what I get for taking such a prolonged hiatus. I'm using Band-Aid's "Advanced Healing Blister Cushions." I've used them in the past for ruck marching blisters and they work quite well. What I love about them is, after thoroughly cleaning out the wound of course, I can slap one on and in a week I can take it off and my skin will be completely healed. I also did a bit of research on the Grapplesock to either prevent blisters or to use while blisters are healing. After reading a few Sherdog threads, it appears that the grip dots on the bottom come off within the first few uses. Some posters complain that the dot-less socks are slippery while others assert that its comparable to being barefoot. I may have a perfect solution to this. While in the military, we'd apply a caulk-like silicone that comes in a tube to our white ceremonial gloves for more grip. The silicon was very resilient and isn't phased by wash machines. If I do get some Grapplesocks, I'll apply a thin layer to the area around the heel and ball of the foot. I'll report back with results.

I spoke to Andre after the class and he told me that the monthly fee is $150. I had been told by Brian, my instructor for 6 months, that for the first 25 students it would be $100/mo. I was actually the first student there and expressed this to Andre. His response was that because I had taken a break, it no longer applied. Luckily, I got him to agree to 6 months for $600. I'm all paid up, so, here we go...