This is my strong hand...

Have you ever been drilling a technique and realized that it works better from one side or the other?  The thought of my left side being so inefficient and my right side techniques flow a lot smoother has been bothering me for several weeks now. I am to the point, where I need to focus on improving my weak side to improve my techniques from any position and help me work more escapes and others.

Since my loss in focus and concentration a couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across a gem of a book called, Body-Mind-Mastery: Training for Sport and Life by Dan Millman. This book discusses how to use natural laws in nature and life influences your training and performance in whatever sport you are currently involved.If it outlines some really deep ideals on training and performance in sports and how it interacts with your life.

Now, I was reading the other day in the book about symmetry between your body and muscles. If you were capable to perform any movement with either your weak or strong side you could reduce injuries, by not limiting yourself to one side, you could train longer, by switching side to side, and you would be come more versatile in your sport.

 Naturally, you are going to favor your dominant side and move somewhat effortlessly in your movements. If you could train your weak side to be as strong as or stronger than your dominant side, would you take the time? I am sure a majority of you would say, “Yes!” Who would not jump at the chance to improve their game?  The list of pros definitely outweighs the cons in my book.  The only con I could come up with is the sheer awkwardness of trying techniques from the other side. I am sure there are others, but the pro for me would be less fatique on my dominant side, more escapes, more submissions, and the ability to increase my skill level by utilizing 100% of my body.

I am going to start trying to do things with my left side and see if I can activate the opposite side of my brain and increase my efficiency on my left side. Some things I have already started doing, I moved my mouse over to my left side and I have started trying to do things with my opposite hand. I managed to write the alphabet 10 times with my left hand, it looks like chicken scratch, but I felt like I was concentrating and focusing a lot more than I would have done if I were just writing with my dominant hand. This is going to be a fun experiment and I will try to keep you posted on my progress. How do you train your opposite side or have you ever tried to use your non-dominant side during your daily activities?

First Tournament Results

Well,  last weekend I competed in my First tournament and I had an absolute blast despite being really nervous.I was so nervous, I thought I was going to throw up on the way to Myrtle Beach and while I was weighing in at the tournament.

I made it through the weigh ins at 213lbs, which is where I wanted to be and started looking at the competition that had signed up, only 3 people in my division. One of which was, Billy, another white belt from my school. He and I would square off against each other in the 200-225lb division and have several matches to boot.

Billy lost his first match by points, and that set me up to go against my first opponent.We squared off and slapped hands and the crowd went silent. My heart beat was echoing in my ears and my breathing was erratic. I kept trying to get the take down, and pulled a very sloppy guard. There was a back and forth exchange of positions and we ended up back on our feet. I managed to grab a leg and get the single leg take down. I tried several kimuras from the top and got swept. He left his arm in and ended up getting him in a triangle. After watching the video and getting some feedback from everyone at my school, I missed several opportunities earlier in the match to go for a triangle.

I was on an high as I rolled into gi and submitted the same guy with a triangle I had submitted in no-gi. Then Billy and I faced off, there were several reversals back and forth. He got me in an Omaplata and rolled out and got side control. Eventually I caught my friend in a key lock and won the match by submission to take 1st in Gi. Do not worry Billy got his revenge on me in the Absolute white belt

  Going into white belt absolute, I was more nervous for this division. I ended up going against a guy that was about 175lbs and who seemed to me to be the Flash, disguised as a white belt. He was all over me and I could not shake him. He had my back and racked nice cushion of lead of 9-0. I ended up trying to escape and forgot to block his leg and ended up in a triangle. Ironic, huh?

Then Billy came back, and took third place in absolute, by defeating with an arm bar submission. By this point my cardio was shot and I was tired and hungry.

I ended up with 2 first place finishes and a not so bad showing in absolute for my first time. Overall, I am proud to have finished like I did. I never would have thought that I would have ever got enough nerve and would have ever been this physically ready to do something like this. I have exceeded a goal and met my biggest fear by doing this tournament. Now, unfortunately, I have the bug and I want to compete again! Congratulations to Billy, for a great showing in his first tournament!

Things to work on before my tournament:
1) Cardio- Back to Crossfit and Rolling more
2) Game plan- Get one and use it
3) BREATH!!!!
4) Drill my escapes over and over
5)Do the best I can, and learn from what I did wrong

Any and all feedback is welcome and let me know your thoughts on my performance or any tips that you would give me to work on for my next tournament. 

Upcoming Tournament, This weekend!

I was out of town all last week in Virginia and did not get a chance to train at all. Now I am back in good ole South Carolina, and back to hitting the mats and the weights in preparation for this tournament this weekend at Myrtle Beach, SC.

This is my first tournament and I definitely felt the butterflies earlier in the week. After talking with all the guys they reassured me I would do fine and I probably would have some adrenaline rush and gas out early. It actually felt like I was already competing; I was sweating and my heart rate was through the roof since from listening to them describe my first tournament.

I then turned to internet for guidance and searched through several blogs I follow, and read everything I could about tournaments and competing in all of them. It was nice to see all the people that have competed for the first time and survived to compete again, and kept us newbies informed so that we can learn from their experiences.

Preparation for this tournament is nil, but I am going in with no expectations and will definitely learn from this weekend. My mind has been racing all week with antici......................pation (using my Dr. Frankenfurter voice).

After 8 months of training, here I am face to face with something I thought I would never do. This is a milestone for me in my life. Win, lose or draw, I am going to have fun and meet some fellow practitioners and do I what I love to do, Jiu Jitsu. Wish me Luck!