"In Victory, Tighten Your Helmet Cords"
I had finally made it to the gym, after a packed holiday season day full of chores and errands. I felt like crap, hadn't slept well, and had been busy all day-- but I still went. And I'm glad I did. I always am. I sat through almost an hour of traffic to make the evening fundamentals course since I wasn't able to get to the afternoon all levels class, and as a beginner I always appreciate the slower pace. We worked much the same techniques that that all-levels classes did, but with fewer variations. When it came time to roll, I was doing better than I figured I would. I went (sort of) even with a new blue belt, and got a tap from a triangle choke (my first) against a bigger, new guy with a wrestling background. For the final round, I was paired up with someone about my size, and I was doing well again-- passing guards, getting mounts, etc. If it were a competition, I would have been way up on points. Then it all fell apart. He was able to escape my side control, tak...