AAR 1/11: "The Theme of the White Belt is Survival"

The theme of the white belt is survival, nothing more and nothing less. After all, this is what the white belt has to do from the first day of class. He is not going to arrive in class and beat the best. He has no one to whom he can compare himself because he is still an empty vessel.

Ribeiro, Saul. Jiu-Jitsu University (p. 16). 

Technique: Kimura from deep half guard
Thoughts: Deep Half Guard/Reverse Half Guard is almost above my pay grade, so this was tough, but we all have to start somewhere. Honestly, I felt like I got more out of learning how to transition into Deep Half than I did from the Kimura top training simply because I'm so weak with Deep/Reverse Half Guard escapes/defenses/sweeps.

Rolls: 4x5 minutes, regular competition rolls. A bonus 3 minute round with another white belt after class ended.

What went well: I survived, goddammit.

What Could Improve: I need more five minute rounds. I need to learn to transition to more defenses/sweeps from bottom and set things up without using strength. Basically, my bottom game is crap, and when I'm working with people larger and more experienced than me (which is most of my gym) I can really only react until they inevitably pass/submit me.

But I still left with my head held high (once I could stand up again). After tapping me (again), one of my partners asked me if I was okay. I nodded and said "Just my ego." And that's it. No one likes losing. I sure as hell don't. But when you lose the ability to lose, you lose the ability to grow. I have a lot of growth ahead of me in Jiu Jitsu, and it's going to come with a lot of losing and a lot of pain. Let's do the damn thing.

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