Yael's Journal - Page 5

Derek Simonds · 05-02-2012, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allen Yeh

I don't care what people say but trying to eat Paleo when you are traveling is $$$$.

Dude for real! Trying to eat Paleo at home is bad enough but on the road it is rough.

Derek Simonds · 05-02-2012, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yael Grauer

I did get the chance to attend two classes at Marcelo Garcia's academy in NYC, which was awesome.

Marcelo is definitely on my bucket list of BJJ academies. Did you get to roll with him? He often times trains with the people who are visiting. His philosophy is so different than most schools. He is completely open with everything and doesn't try to hid any techniques from anyone.

Super cool experience!

Yael Grauer · 05-02-2012, 06:28 AM

I did not get to roll with him. We only did three 7-minute rounds. I've rolled with some other badasses though, like Lucas Lepri and Bill Cooper and Eric Schafer and Val Worthington and Emily Kwok, so it's all good. I was just happy to be there (and meet him.)

Derek Simonds · 05-02-2012, 06:33 AM

Very cool that is a star studded list of people!

Yael Grauer · 05-02-2012, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allen Yeh

I don't care what people say but trying to eat Paleo when you are traveling is $$$$.

Right?! I did have a nice meal last night--steak, potatoes and spinach--but it was super pricey and out of the norm. At the conference, the food offered was all pasta-based, and that sucked, since the price for it I'm sure was included in what we paid for the conference. Oh well, live and learn.

Another challenge is turning down drinks a lot. I just don't want to drink when I'm sleeping and eating so badly due to traveling... will take a drink here and there, but not nearly as much as is offered.

Flying home today, then going to Milwaukee, but I'll be home again Saturday night and will get back to normal on Sunday.

Yael Grauer · 05-02-2012, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derek Simonds

Very cool that is a star studded list of people!

Yeah, I'm really lucky! Lepri visited my gym and was a guest instructor for a week, and I met Emily and Val at Women's Grappling Camp, and went to a Bill Cooper seminar and got a private lesson. Good times. And I visit Red's gym whenever I'm in Milwaukee--I'll be there Saturday, so I'm psyched.

Yael Grauer · 05-05-2012, 06:52 PM

So I got home on Wednesday and then left for Madison on Thursday and then for Milwaukee on Friday to cover some fights for Sherdog... I got to visit Red Schafer's gym this morning (Saturday), which is always a blast. He's just a really good coach and it's a nice vibe, plus we worked deep half guard sweeps, and we don't do a lot of deep half at my gym, so it was fun. And I talked Heather Bassett into visiting, too, so I could train with her. She is an ammy MMA fighter with some good game, but I felt like I could hang (even though she's a lot better), so it was cool. She did work some nice sweeps a lot of times and gave me some pointers to fix up my positioning. Rolled with a brown belt, another white belt, and Heather again. (She's a blue, but a lot smaller than me, but very technical.) Then I rolled with one guy who was telling me I could do everything he could do if I understood little details, and to be like water and all this bullshit. I really hate abstract philosophical concepts disguised as legitimate (as in, helpful) pointers, because they're pretty much meaningless to me. But yeah, he had some good hooks and was fun to roll with. It was nice to get to train so much. Even though I'm not where I want to be, I felt like I could hang pretty well.

I am stuck in Madison now because of the storms I was avoiding on the way home, but at least there's a workout room here and a pool, so I'll get some work in. Honestly my biggest problem lately isn't not enough workouts, but that I'm not eating enough since I want to avoid eating crap and also due to my own forgetfulness. Like two days ago I had a cup of coffee, and then I ate breakfast at a cafe that I know has Paleo options, and then at like 10 at night I realized that I hadn't eaten dinner, but of course I had to work, and I didn't get to eat until the wee early morning hours, when I had the best diner food I could find, which wasn't very good. Steak and powder eggs.

But yeah, BJJ today, probably 90 minutes. Oh and I ran out of gas so I had to walk to the gas station to fill up my gas can and walk back to my car.

Been a long time since I've done that!

I am so tired of being away from home... tomorrow will be nice.

Yael Grauer · 05-06-2012, 09:18 AM

My recap of visiting Marcelo's gym: http://yaelwrites.com/2012/05/06/bjj...cademy-in-nyc/

Yael Grauer · 05-07-2012, 08:52 PM

I'm doing another 30 day Paleo thing. Just tired of eating crappy while traveling and I feel gross. So!

Day 1: 2 paleo muffins + chicken apple hash for breakfast, chicken curry for lunch, a bit of pork tenderloin for dinner...

Jits today. I'm really really really bored in class. We just keep doing boring things, and my coach insists on breaking them down in even more boring ways sometimes. Like there's be a three-step progression and I won't get the third step right away, so he'll tell me just to focus on the first two steps that I already know. And it's not like we're even drilling against resistance. It just feels so choreographed. I told him I was bored today, which was probably not smart, but he did ask why I was acting not like myself. I just feel like I'm forced to play scales when I just wanna jam. So I guess I have to decide whether to try to go to every single class so I'll get striped sooner and will be allowed to go to the classes where I can roll, or to just do 2-3 classes a week and have more time to lift weights. And still not sure what my goals are.

Derek Simonds · 05-08-2012, 10:42 AM

Ah goals, sometimes they are a miserable thing. How many more classes for you to get your stripe? Greg once said to me you need to determine if you are a BJJ guy who weight lifts or a weightlifter who does BJJ. Doesn't mean that focus can't change month to month.