18: jits

I"m sure the entire world will be fascinated to know that in the aftermath of my cold - I use aftermath loosely, since I am still snotting on a regular basis, and by a regular basis I mean about every three minutes - I feel like I am, for the first time in possibly years, maybe actually clearing out my sinuses. 

The bad news is that I feel dizzy when I blow my nose or sinus rinse my sinuses. Details.

...

I've been getting more serious about jiu jitsu rather than standup fighting. As in, if I have a choice on a given evening, I suit up for jits. The result has been two black tape stripes on my white-and-yellow belt in a span of about a month, where I had gone for three months with none. (Admittedly, I now go more often to a class where the teacher is much more about encouragement and getting to know his students, too.)

I've also been trying to roll more frequently. It's hard, because rolling after my class most days is from 8:30 to 9, and if there is one thing concerning which I feel frantic these days, it is protecting my going home, relaxing, and getting ready to go to bed on time window. And yet, I want to improve my jiu jitsu, and so I persist. 

We were practicing quarter position top today, which means how to get a person out of turtle position, and the moments were not few in which my partner rolled onto my hand or we smashed knees. I shall examine my bruises of honor by the light of day tomorrow and revel in them.

Then we rolled, and I got smashed by five orange and green belts. It was good for me. I learned some things. Probably not regulation things, but some of them worked for me. 

Unfortunately, the gimpy of my arms was not improved by all of the desperate gripping of collars and sleeves that I had to do. When you don't yet have the technical ability, sometimes all you have is the modicum of strength in your arms and legs to keep that person from crushing you. It sort of worked, and now my hands hurt.