Traversing the Obstacles of Life and BJJ

[R. Alan Hester]

2 June
BJJ

GTG: pull-ups and pistols

3 June
GTG: rope climb and pistols

4 June
BJJ

GTG: pullups pistols

5 June
BJJ

4x
weightvest push-ups; kb swings; frog jumps; neck bridges

[R. Alan Hester]

6 June
JM

7 June
Rest


8 June
GTG
Pistols and pull-ups

[R. Alan Hester]

9 June
Morning:
15 min JM/stretch consisting of:
"Quick 8" from Mighty River of Steel
Dick Hartzell Lower Body Flexibility Routine with bands
Neck bridges and Hand bridges

Today:
GTG: Pull-ups and one-arm 45 degree push-ups

Tonight:
BJJ

[R. Alan Hester]

11 June

BJJ

Tough night. Positional drills where you start in bottom high-mount, winner stays on bottom--what a prize . I love these positional drills. They really let you try new things and learn basic escapes. Stayed in for a long time, then an ezekiel choke got me.

Then three 10 minutes rolls. I felt very flat tonight and it showed. At the end, I got the 200 pound Division I wrestler, because no one wanted to roll with the guy, including the blues and up. He is a monster on top. Thank Zeus for the GI. My reward was a cranked neck. (Note to self: do not expose neck when scrambling with a wrestler.)

[Derek Simonds]

Originally Posted by R. Alan Hester

11 June

BJJ

Tough night. Positional drills where you start in bottom high-mount, winner stays on bottom--what a prize . I love these positional drills. They really let you try new things and learn basic escapes. Stayed in for a long time, then an ezekiel choke got me.

Then three 10 minutes rolls. I felt very flat tonight and it showed. At the end, I got the 200 pound Division I wrestler, because no one wanted to roll with the guy, including the blues and up. He is a monster on top. Thank Zeus for the GI. My reward was a cranked neck. (Note to self: do not expose neck when scrambling with a wrestler.)

I love those positional drills, you are right you can try new things that you wouldn't normally. Nothing like finishing the night with a guy whose conditioning is top notch.

Two things Div 1 wrestler = Suckage in several different positions. Don't ever try and turtle with one of those guys or you end up gator rolled faster then you can spit. Ezekiel choke is the so dang nasty, once you get comfortable with it you can slip it in from so many spots. It is also the only choke I have completely passed out from. I though for sure I could get out and it just kept getting tighter and tighter until I was taking a nice little nappy. Since then I have learned the choke and learned how to defend well enough to tap if I get caught in it.

[R. Alan Hester]

12 June
BJJ

16 June

Morning:
20 min run/walk with wife
5 sets 20 KB swings/10 push-ups

GTG during the day:
DB one-arm press/pull-ups

Night:
BJJ
Spider guard positional drills
4x10 roll

Notes: Not eating much today was a bad idea. I was crushed by the end. I need to cut calories on off days.

[R. Alan Hester]

16-29 June
BJJ some. Cannot remember why I did not post.

Spent Fri-Mon in Charleston, SC eating like a pig in celebration of my 7 year anniversary.

S&C working on the drills in Mastering the Pistol by Steve Cotter. GTG pull-ups at work.

30 June
BJJ
All attacking the turtle.p
monkey in the middle positional drills: one in turtle, the other attacks. Winner stays in and on top. My turtle escapes were on, my attacks stunk. Probably because I spent my first 6 months escaping.

Rolled a bunch tonight. Started with a blue/purple ( he is a blue that should have been promoted months ago, but has not been down for the "test"). We went back and forth with sweeps, but he taped me with an arm bar. We ended with me passing his half guard and the timer sounded. Good showing overall, very high intensity, but my transitions were sloppy compared to his.

Problems emerged: I am having problems transitioning from different open guards. Therefore, I bought 12 private lessons at a discount ($50 each) to address this with our Black Belt.

Finally, I am entering my first comp. July 11--Naga in Charlotte, NC.

[Derek Simonds]

Man I am so excited for you! Your first competition is going to be a riot. Email me if you want me to share any of my thoughts with you.

[R. Alan Hester]

02 July
BJJ

My neck has been screwed since class Tuesday. A fat boy tried to stack pass me and my head got stuck on a wall while he continued to push.

Tonight, tried to take it easy, but we had a king of the mountain night. We split the class in two groups. Everyone fought in each group, and the winner fought the other group's winner. I eeked out the title. 4 wins, 3 by subs and 1 on points (5-4).

It helped out that the matches were 5 minutes, for my matches next weekend will be 5 minutes. I found out you don't have time to muck about--go after it in a controlled manner, exploding when necessary.

Now my neck is super screwed. Cannot look to the left or right, which sucks when trying to drive.

I have a private tomorrow and Sunday. Then, class Monday and Tuesday followed by three days of forced rest (work stuff) before the comp. Cardio is great and my gameplan is getting fleshed-out thanks to Derek's help--thanks Derek.

[Derek Simonds]

No problem, I hope I didn't throw too much in. I had to pare down what I was thinking. You are going to rock!