Dojo quest

Maybe a year ago I decided to start checking out other gyms to get a chance to roll with other people. I finally did visit another gym today, and it was okay.

I had a few rolls, but the training partners weren't ideal. They were a lot bigger than I was, and the general tone was sort of like the finals of the world championships. These dudes really wanted to tap me out.

Anyways, I don't really recommend dojo storming if you aren't in good shape and in good health. I'm only a blue belt, but I was a huge target for a lot of the people there. I actually ended up getting kind of hurt (sprained wrist?) because the huge guys were going aggro.

However, a few holes were exposed in my game. My gi game felt sloppy, and one thing that was constant was a hand in my collar breaking my posture as I tried to pass. I was unsuccessful getting the hand out with the bigger guys, and eventually got swept and whatnot. Gotta be more persistent with breaking this, as this was probably THE cause for breakdown.

I didn't do terribly, though. My defense is feeling very good. My guard recovery is very good. Aside from a black belt, my guard didn't get passed. Actually, even the black belt didn't pass- he reversed me from side control and took top position.

Gotta work on my gi game, regardless. Perhaps a few lessons can come out of this. I do need to constantly challenge myself and match up against other people that I am not familiar with. It would be much better if they were my size, however, as the risk of injury increases when I'm just rolling with randoms.

In the next few weeks, I'd like to visit a few gyms. Maybe I'll even go back to the gym for next week's open mat. Gotta expand my game and not get complacent.

The moment I am satisfied with my game is the moment I fall off! Gotta always look for areas to improve.