Wow has time been flying by. I can't believe we are already only a week away from Thanksgiving. Amidst all of the school field trips and social outings that come with the season I have managed to make it to all of the BJJ classes. Last week went pretty well.

We had two new members join the class and that is always nice. They are both soccer players that are looking to stay in shape during their off season. Both are from Brazil, but have never actually done any Jiu Jitsu. Last week we went over some basics- We worked on getting out of closed guard, and drilling a roll from the guard position.

I certainly appreciated the simplicity of it...but maybe I was the only one. Last night was terrible. The instructor had us working on darce and gator grips. Maybe it is just me, but both are ridiculously difficult..No matter how I contort myself I can't seem to get a strong enough grip to hold. My arms are either too short, or the fact that I am female is a hindrance..or maybe both. Anyone else have the same problem? I can't imagine being able to swoop into one of those positions during an actual roll.

I left class last night completely hopeless. Hoping Wed night is better.

Monday Monday...

Another Monday- Another start of another week. Today is only the beginning and I am already exhausted. Holiday weekends are brutal when kids are involved. Essentially every hour, of every day is scheduled. When the unexpected things (like taking the cat to the vet, or the dog eating the family chicken pet, or yet another bolt gets lodged in your tire) get thrown into the equation it gets even worse. It does make me feel better to know that the kids are exhausted too. Normally they are some sort of super humans with boundless energy- but today, even they are dragging.

Due to all of the holiday festivities I haven't had much of a chance to catch up on anything. So, I am sitting here working on this first- as opposed to tackling the laundry (that has become so large I really feel the need to name it and adopt it into the family) or the dishes. What can I say- we have to have priorities-

Last week was fairly rocky all the way around. The last class of the week was better- it was a more get back to the basics approach, which of course I appreciated. We worked on passing guard, moving to side control and then full mount. We then made it into a drill by the bottom person locking the foot, bumping and rolling the person off of mount and back into closed guard where we could start all over again. Main morale of the drill?? Keep your elbows tight- don't allow anyone to get too high- towards your arm pits. That's where bad things happen.

I had a long conversation with one of the guys- he said he appreciates the fact that I show up everyday, and he can tell that I take it seriously. He hopes that eventually it will become easier for me, and others will start giving me the chance to roll too. That was certainly a positive...while it is great that I have won him over- his arm is currently broken and he cannot participate in any kind of training. Once he is better, I know he is one I can go to for help though.

The verdict is still out on the trip to Dallas...honestly I am not sure that I want to spend mass amounts of money to be completely overwhelmed for two days straight- but at the same time a crash course may be just what I need..I will be flip flopping on it for another month or so I'm sure. Apparently the seminar is not really a seminar- but an affiliate based course. So, there aren't any other women- it would only be me. The Saturday class is from 1pm-7pm, and Sunday is 10am to 2pm..let's face it- that is A LOT of Jiu Jitsu. I don't know if I can even survive a course like that right now...
Financially I am not prepared either. The guys said that they take boo coos of gis and change them out frequently due to sweating so much. I am not in a position right now to buy five or six gis. On the other hand- attending the course with the guys may be just what I need to do to officially break the ice with them- maybe this is their version of a hazing..

We have another class tonight- if I can survive the day, I will go.