Thursday 30 June 2011

Shoulder update #3

Shoulder not as a stiff and painful this morning.

Physiotherapy date is 5th July at 2.50pm!

Looking forward to getting an official rehab routine to follow.



Still icing up every 2 hours.

Contacted Mc and he was very nice about my absence and told me to rest up.

Heal faster!

Tuesday 28 June 2011

Shoulder update #2

The pain has decreased somewhat.

I have better ROM.

Icing and Ibuprofen regularly.

Doing simple ROM exercises for about 5 mins per day at the moment.

It doesn't feel as bad as my first shoulder injury.

Still no call from the physio.

Friday 24 June 2011

Friday & Physio

I went to the hospital yesterday and they referred me to an physiotherapist.

We're guessing at least 1 month until we truly see what damage, if any, has been done.

In the meantime, I've started the ice/ibuprofen/gel treatment that I used on my injured shoulder previously.

Interestingly enough, my shoulder feels a little less painful this morning.


I assume this is because I applied ice/ibuprofen/gel sooner rather than later.
I hope this is just a minor derailment.

Give. Health. Need. To. Roll.

Thursday 23 June 2011

Shoulder update #1

I'm heading to A&E in an hour.

I need a MRI or ultrasound, that's for sure.



I have limited ROM and the pain is intense.

I hope it's just heavy bruising.

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Shoulder it

*CRUNCH* was the sound my shoulder made when I landed on it, after sailing through the air following an awkward throw.

I type this with a bag of frozen mince on my shoulder.

10 minutes into the lesson and I was forced to sit out.

1.5 hours later, and I was still watching.

Depressing memories of my last ligament injury (on the same damn shoulder) came flooding back.

Stupid. Shoulder. Stupid. Me.

AC and/or Rotator hurt the most. Grr!

Dsu massaged it and it felt slightly better. But there's no denying I had awful ROM, and would have been a fool to try and train through the pain.

LN lent me some freeze spray. I guess it helped a little.
LN also showed me some nice chokes and neck workouts before class.

I hope I just bruised my muscle, as I can't stand the idea of another handful of months lost to a pathetic shoulder injury.

Fingers RNC'd (crossed) that I get back on the mats soon and this is just bruising!

Frustrated.

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Monday 1.5 #3

Partnered mainly with D2.

He was super helpful and generally a nice, soft spoken guy.

Drilled:

  1. knee on chest
  2. feed left hand to collar
  3. right hand to collar behind left
  4. loop right hand over head
  5. choke
Many knee on chest drills that I cannot remember now. Typical!

Was great.

Sparred with D2 and D1. D1 was actually helpful this time.
Great!

Bruised and have a slight black eye today.

J gave some brief backward roll instructions at the end of class, but I had to leave due to transport.

Bus to meet E at train station.

Saturday 18 June 2011

Land of the Giants

Saturday morning tiredness consumed me when I arrived today.

It was soon replaced with sweat and eagerness.

Full class for fundamentals so I shared partnership with BigD and BigL.

Comparing heights they both made me look like a toddler!
Not a problem. Still good fun.

I felt like this:



Drilled the sweeps from CG into Armbar: knee in upper chest. leg to sweep or place on hip to swap into Armbar after feigning sweep.

Also drilled sweeping into mount+choke.

Great fun today. I could have gone for another hour.

The seminar with PH was cancelled due to people being away on holiday.

After another month, I think I'll look into increasing the number of classes I attend.
eg. 2 more BJJ and Sub wrestling/MMA, maybe.

Brain has been ok.

Nephews are visiting.

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Wednesday 1.5 #2

Another great session.

Entered the class tired, but left feeling great.

Drilled choking from the sweeping from bottom, choking from the bottom (3 positions)

  1. Deep on collar
  2. Shrimp butt out
  3. Knee into chest
  4. Pass their pant ankle to your left hand
  5. Roll them over

As above to 3:
  1. Pull collar across neck
  2. Snake hand over back of head
  3. Pull in
This sounds so wishy washy, but it's all I can recall.

Patience. Description will come along with knowledge and experience.
One cannot pain what one cannot see.

My lack of detail doesn't reflect how enjoyable it is. It's great!

Rolled with St, and he was really friendly, helpful and nice. His shoulder is messed up, too. He needs surgery.

Rolled with Dv and get my first face burn. Dv pulled my Gi across my face.
nb. be more aware of position of knees when kneeling for sparring, as Dv knocked me over cos I was too high and had my knees too close together  Make a good base.

Gristly knot in neck is still there. Need to keep my eye on it.

Brain has been ok.

Monday 13 June 2011

Monday 1.5 #2

Rolled with Lu.

He smelled of spice or hash. It wasn't horrible, but slightly off-putting.

Drilled armbar > pushing them to their side.

As per usual: I don't recall it all!

I mainly drilled the armbar.
I don't think Lu was confident in his explanations, so it was slightly awkward.

Eventually learned a rudimentary armbar.



Rolled.
Watched.
Enjoyed.

I foresee these slow moving, inching forward classes for a long time. I learn each time, so it's fine.

Injuries:
Knee scab rubbed off, but all three mat burns (feet and knee) are slowly healing. Fully taped is good.

Mind isn't too bad today.

I get a replacement phone tomorrow after smashing mine in frustration.

Saturday 11 June 2011

Saturday Morning Fun

Tubigrip and dressing on knee: check
Tape around feet: check

Today's fundamentals class was great.

My partner was IL, my old school friend, so it was even easier to pick things up.
Plus, we're about the same height.

Drilled:

  1. Partner stood up, holding check+wrist
  2. Break their grip
  3. Hook their left foot/ankle with left arm
  4. Pass my left collar to my left hand
  5. Leg into armpit
  6. Take them down
Also:
  1. Partner arms around my arms and chest
  2. Drop a level
  3. Lift arms slightly
  4. Hold his upper hand
  5. Slide other hand through gap in bicep
  6. Step around  and armlock OR ->
  7. Step around with same foot + grab his knees at same time
  8. Lift him up and to side
  9. Drop him
  10. Turn in to knee closest
  11. Control
We may have done more stuff, but it eludes me right now.

Still not even close to having good defence, so the holes in my memory aren't a big concern.

It often feels like I am relearning my left and right multiple times per class.

Nk and IL were super helpful.

At the end of the class we did crunches, press-ups, stars and squats.
I didn't even get to finish, I was so slow.
I did about 5 squats, then stopped as everybody was waiting. Ouch.
I had to resort to doing kneeling press-ups after managing about 5 normal press-ups!
Time will improve my lack of conditioning.

I repeat: Great class.

Mind still hurts more than body.
I wish my was neurotypical sometimes.

Knees and feet held up ok.

Friday 10 June 2011

Cut up update

The mats burns are coming along fine. 


Spray Plaster seems to be working wonders, especially on the knees. 


The burns on my toes are taking longer, but I expected that. 


Class tomorrow (Saturday) morning, so lots of tape and due attention will be needed. 


Brain hurts more than body today.

Thursday 9 June 2011

Wednesday 1.5 #1

Another 1.5 hour class.

This time I went in with crazy mat burns on feet and knees.

Drilled initially with Fem. Went well.

As per usual, I don't explain this with much clarity due to my inexperience:

Worked on Matador Guard Pass into knee on chest, kneeling over head into armbar, and flipping over them and planting feet either side of head.





Fem kindly wrapped my feet (surgical tape)

The clarity will come with more experience!

Finished off the night with sparring. Avoided Quiet Guy this time, and didn't get hurt/triangled.

Stopped rolling 10 minutes before end because feet burns were taking a pounding.

Instead, I sat and watched the group roll, and it was amazing to see.

Having started the class feeling pretty low and battered, I actually felt less pained and more energetic after the 1.5 hours of class.

BJJ does good things to a person.

I could tell I was minutely more aware of what they were doing as they sparred than I was when I first joined.

Tiny step towards excellence.

Today (Thursday):

Spray on plaster, antiseptic cream: GO!

2 days off to heal.




Wednesday 8 June 2011

Wednesday AM: Achey Breaky

*My two gis, rash guard and belt arrived yesterday*

Plasters and burn cream still being used on mat burns.

Neck still bruised.

Still going to the 1.5 hour class tonight? Of course.

I slept ok, but had a horrible soul crushing dream. My heart aches more than my body.

Stupid brain.

Tuesday 7 June 2011

Urge

Despite today's previous post being somewhat downbeat, as the day is progressing my urge to roll is slowly growing.

As every minute passes, my muscles ache less, and I feel more alive and determined to roll tomorrow.

Ice on neck, I move on.

Addiction is a routine I welcome in this case

Sore neck

Managed 2 hours of sleep since yesterday.

Anyway.
I have ice on my jaw at the moment, as it hurts like hell.

The pain is almost like tonsillitis, but since I have no tonsils, I believe the pain is from getting multiple super-triangled by quiet guy last night.

I must learn to tap sooner.



Bus time situation may be resolved thanks to family help
*update following Monday's bus incident*

The change in routine due to the bus time change, subsequent taxi ride, and numerous mat burns, led me to get 0 sleep.

I feel like a husk.

This is never good.

I hope I manage to get some sleep soon.

In the meantime, I've had a warm bath, cleaned my mat burns, applied antiseptic cream, and covered them up with loose plasters.

Sleep soon, please.

Apart from the chaos, I still loved last night's lengthy BJJ class.

Monday 6 June 2011

Monday 1.5 hours & bus problems #1

Monday night's 1.5 hour lesson (written on Tuesday morning 1am):

Serious fatigue post-class. Felt like I'd sprinted a marathon. Body wanted to quit, but I wouldn't allow it.

Drilled the previous exercises

*2 New drills*

1st

  1. Partner: high mounted on me
  2. Lift/walk my butt over his left calf
  3. Slide elbow down their right thigh to keep leg out/down
  4. S grip near my belt line to secure
  5. Bridge more
  6. Walk/hop legs left and towards their head
  7. Roll them over
  8. Mount them
2nd

  1. Mounted
  2. Feet clasped
  3. Feel his feet out, under/over with my feet to break feet lock
  4. Hook my feet under his legs/shins to lever
  5. Hands on his lower hips
  6. Bench press him off
  7. Mount him

Rolled with 3 guys:

  1. Biggie, who was nice, but maybe too gentle.
  2. Then rolled with the quiet guy who pretty much destroyed me -  armbar armbar armbar. He either enjoyed going OTT on me or just didn't think to hold back. Oh well, I suppose there's always one whe doesn't cut the new guy any slack. Fair enough.
  3. Skinny guy, who was ok, but I kept leaving my arms in. Triangle spam.

I probably spazzed again, though I did get side control and escape a few triangles.

Loved it!
Lots of friction burns!

Taxi home due to misreading the bus timetable.

Now have to rethink what classes I can attend due to the changes to the bus times. Ouch.

Lost my 1.5 hour classes, but can replace them with the earlier 1 hour classes and add the Sub Wrestling at a later date.

The bus time issue is more stressful and upsetting than my aching bones and mat burnt skin.
No surprises there.

nb. my memory may be wrong concerning what we drilled, but I'm sure recalling these things will improve as I become more aware of what is actually going on with my limbs

Sunday 5 June 2011

The morning after the first day before

**following yesterday afternoon's dizziness and high stress levels**

For the first time in ages I went to sleep at a logical hour last night (~11pm)

Today, I woke at 7am with bones, limbs and brain aching like I'd been rolling with the devil himself.

The pain is well earned, and therefore more bearable.

In fact, I don't mind physical pain.

Bruised medals.

My heart and mind, on the other hand, still ache.

Most of my true pain and confusion comes from inside.

I am going to learn to deal with my inner failings during this journey, I hope.

Saturday 4 June 2011

First day of BJJ: Post-Lesson

I'm home and very sweaty.

We did 2 or 3 drills. I can hardly remember!

It seems like a blur already, but this is vaguely what I recall*:

Drill 1
  1. Started with partner in CG > Drilled shaking someone off from standing > R hand chest, L hand hip, left leg forward to break guard OR  > holding inner thigh (elbows in), use it to stand (on left leg) pushing back and out > R hand on their knee + jiggle them down to break guard then 2.
  2. Holding below knees to control and swing them to the side to allow stepping into side control/knee on chest
Drill 2
  1. RNC: scuttling to the right to flip them over (moving right shoulder towards floor) OR holding their arm and  lifting them onto your back then tossing them over R shoulder
Rolled with Rn

Lack of clarity is understandable!

I probably spazzed.

No egos and lots of respect.

Recognised IL from Middle School. He didn't recognise me. Will say hello next time.

I loved it.

Signed for 3 BJJ classes per week (Saturday+any 2 in week).
Will increase to include Sub Wrestling when I am ready.

*I think I have mixed the 2 or 3 drills up so this makes little to no sense

First day of BJJ: Pre-Lesson


Today looks to be the hottest this year, and the day of my first BJJ class


Last night I was stricken by insomnia at about 2am, and didn't manage to sleep properly for the rest of the night/morning.


Maybe my subconscious was analysing the approaching BJJ lesson.


BJJ
(FUNDAMENTALS)
10:00-11:00am


Nervous but hopeful.
I will learn and progress.