VISIT FROM WOLFPACK BRANDON INSTRUCTOR

FRIDAY, 19 APRIL 2013 & SATURDAY, 20 APRIL 2013

Roberto L., a Charles Dos Anjos black belt, and Bryon W. (not Byron, but Bryon), a purple belt under Roberto, made a special trip up here to the Jacksonville area and trained with me and my classes over two days.

On Friday, Roberto and Bryon participated and taught with me at Smiley's.  I was able to get in a good 15 minute practice session with Roberto so I can gauge myself against a seasoned black belt.  I have things to work on to improve and I thank him for exposing those areas so I am better aware of them.

On Saturday, Roberto and Bryon came for my BJJ class at AFR (as did Jonathan G. from Smiley's).  It was an open mat session where specific questions were answered and we were able to roll.  I had Roberto assess Jason C. for me in order to get a second opinion on his progress and see if I have missed anything.  I also had the opportunity to roll with Bryon.

In judo, Roberto sat out due to a previous back injury that he aggravated earlier in the day.  It was a packed house, with Greg, Jack, me, Nick, Jason, Kyle, Bryon, and a new person named Scott (8 in all).  We practiced our favorite throws, or started learning throws, with Bryon working extensively on o-goshi.  In randori, I went against Bryon and hit him with ko-soto-gari on one occasion, and also took him down off of his attempt at a single leg.  All in all, it was a good training session.  I trust that all of us took something away.

It was a cool experience having fellow Wolfpack guys make the trip to train, assess, and hopefully bring a good report back to the folks farther south.

Kris

LESSON 36 AT SMILEY'S COMBAT ATHLETIX

WEDNESDAY, 17 APRIL 2013

I taught lesson 36 of Smiley's "Roadmap to BJJ Blue Belt" curriculum at Combat Athletix this morning.  Lesson 36 consisted of escaping the cross collar choke from the guard, escaping the armbar from the guard, and defending against punches from being full mounted (and achieving a trap arm/trap leg escape). 

There were 4 students in class today, and I got to practice with a non-white belt in the class for a little change (Cedric T., a 4-stripe blue belt).

All in all, I was pleased with this class this morning.

LITTLE BIRD LEAVES THE NEST

MONDAY, 1 APRIL 2013

In what is not an April's Fools joke, I have to announce that Ethan E. has flown away and is now at boot camp in Great Lakes, IL, after joining the U.S. Navy.

Ethan started training with me in March 2009 and has put up with my shenanigans for nearly four years (he has taken 2013 off, probably to avoid injury and prolonging his boot camp departure date).  I have watched him grow up, from the 9th grader who started over at First Coast Full Contact to the adult who wears a  2-stripe blue belt.

I look forward to Ethan's success in the Navy and hope to be able to train with him again.

Kris

CHARLES' IN HOUSE TOURNAMENT

SATURDAY, 30 MARCH 2013

Jason C., my 4-stripe blue belt, traveled to Sarasota on Saturday and competed in Charles Dos Anjos' in-house tournament.  In what amounted to an open weight category, Jason won a match and lost a match (which happened at the very end, on points, due to his opponent achieving a guard pass).

I am glad that he had a good time, performed well against people who train all the time with Charles, Dave G., Roberto L., Pat M., Nyantu B., and other long-time friends and training partners of mine.

Kris