Judo: Class 25 - SPRAINED ANKLE
08/09/10 20:49 Filed in: Judo
Weight: 233.8lbs
Injured Extremities: 1
Hard-ass falls: 2
So this was a good class. I used the devious trick I apologize of mentioning a sprained ankle when it wasn’t mine. Another Judoka. This particular Judoka is from Kryzgstan (I probably spelled this wrong, I always think of it as the ‘I’d like to buy a vowel’ country), so when we asked if he was OK the head brown belt, Oleg (also Russian) proclaimed “He’s RUSSIAN! Of course he’s OK!” I love my peeps at Judo
Anyway, I got to do some randori with Sensei Brett. Always enlightening! He has to dial his intensity down so far, it is like when you play chutes and ladders with a three year old. He must be so bored, but he loves what he does! Anyway, I’m afraid of falling. So I told Sensei Brett to please make sure I take a few falls to help me get used it.
Can you say ,DUMB?!?!
He did oblige. The first one was a hane-goshi. I thought he was doing O-Goshi, so I thought I’d blocked him and was feeling quite proud of myself for a split second before his leg swept up and I was literally flying through the air. SMASH!!! Onto the mat. The wind was knocked out of me and I was completely disoriented. Everytime I fall in Judo I apparently make a sound like I was gravely injured, but I just sound that way all the time. So each time he throws me he was like “Are you OK?!” I have to grunt, slowly pull myself off the mat (but not too slowly, so I don’t get stepped on or landed on by some other Randori-er) and go at again: slower, stiffer, and looking more and more like a flood victim.
I have no idea what throw he used on me the second time but this time because I’m afraid to take falls I didn’t let go of him...
CAN YOU SAY DUMB?!?!
...when you don’t let go of the person throwing you, you pull them onto you. So this time I hit the mat SMASH and then Sensei Brett hits ME **SMASH**.
Next words I hear “Are you OK?” (I must again have made a sound akin to an unwary hunter stepping into a bear trap)
I pop up ready to go again, but this time I start to feel dizzy...I go half hearted for a bit before I tell him I have to take a break. Off to the side of the mat.
I know this sounds like the worst torture possible, but I absolutely MUST become comfortable with being thrown. In the hands of someone as skilled as sensei Brett, I will NOT be injured. It just takes the overriding of every animal instinct. So, I will continue to subject myself to this until being thrown and taking the fall safely is as natural an instinct as walking. If I can’t master this, I’ll never be able to compete safely.
So despite all this pain, this was a GREAT PRACTICE! I’m having a lot of fun, I’m learning a lot (and realizing just how much there actually is to learn....10 thousand hours might not be enough).
I got to talk with the Injured Russian while I was recovering from the Sensei Brett assault. I don’t know why but the topic turned to life in the USA versus Kryzgstan. He had lived there both under USSR, under ‘free economy’, and in the U.S. It was really interesting hearing his perspective. He said that if you like the simple life, USSR was *the best*. You owned your land and it could never be taken from you (with something like $6/year in property taxes). There were only three types of cars and they were all cheap and easy to repair. Life was simple. Life was stress free. Food and shelter is assured. There is no stress of how you will get your next meal. Coming from that environment into capitalism is extremely stressful! He worries about how if he gets sick he can’t pay his bills and he loses his house, etc. The potential of greater opportunity was not a good trade from his perspective for the security. I could be content with ‘the simple life’ but I would never be content with not being able to do more to get more. I guess it all depends where you are raised!
Anyway, this guy weighs probably 90lbs less than me, and can destroy me in Ne-Waza (ground fighting). He is amazing, and only a white belt himself. Oh, he’s also the guy who broke his toe on 8/2 in Judo Class 15. Guy can’t catch a break! Oh bad joke.
So much to learn!
Injured Extremities: 1
Hard-ass falls: 2
So this was a good class. I used the devious trick I apologize of mentioning a sprained ankle when it wasn’t mine. Another Judoka. This particular Judoka is from Kryzgstan (I probably spelled this wrong, I always think of it as the ‘I’d like to buy a vowel’ country), so when we asked if he was OK the head brown belt, Oleg (also Russian) proclaimed “He’s RUSSIAN! Of course he’s OK!” I love my peeps at Judo
Anyway, I got to do some randori with Sensei Brett. Always enlightening! He has to dial his intensity down so far, it is like when you play chutes and ladders with a three year old. He must be so bored, but he loves what he does! Anyway, I’m afraid of falling. So I told Sensei Brett to please make sure I take a few falls to help me get used it.
Can you say ,DUMB?!?!
He did oblige. The first one was a hane-goshi. I thought he was doing O-Goshi, so I thought I’d blocked him and was feeling quite proud of myself for a split second before his leg swept up and I was literally flying through the air. SMASH!!! Onto the mat. The wind was knocked out of me and I was completely disoriented. Everytime I fall in Judo I apparently make a sound like I was gravely injured, but I just sound that way all the time. So each time he throws me he was like “Are you OK?!” I have to grunt, slowly pull myself off the mat (but not too slowly, so I don’t get stepped on or landed on by some other Randori-er) and go at again: slower, stiffer, and looking more and more like a flood victim.
I have no idea what throw he used on me the second time but this time because I’m afraid to take falls I didn’t let go of him...
CAN YOU SAY DUMB?!?!
...when you don’t let go of the person throwing you, you pull them onto you. So this time I hit the mat SMASH and then Sensei Brett hits ME **SMASH**.
Next words I hear “Are you OK?” (I must again have made a sound akin to an unwary hunter stepping into a bear trap)
I pop up ready to go again, but this time I start to feel dizzy...I go half hearted for a bit before I tell him I have to take a break. Off to the side of the mat.
I know this sounds like the worst torture possible, but I absolutely MUST become comfortable with being thrown. In the hands of someone as skilled as sensei Brett, I will NOT be injured. It just takes the overriding of every animal instinct. So, I will continue to subject myself to this until being thrown and taking the fall safely is as natural an instinct as walking. If I can’t master this, I’ll never be able to compete safely.
So despite all this pain, this was a GREAT PRACTICE! I’m having a lot of fun, I’m learning a lot (and realizing just how much there actually is to learn....10 thousand hours might not be enough).
I got to talk with the Injured Russian while I was recovering from the Sensei Brett assault. I don’t know why but the topic turned to life in the USA versus Kryzgstan. He had lived there both under USSR, under ‘free economy’, and in the U.S. It was really interesting hearing his perspective. He said that if you like the simple life, USSR was *the best*. You owned your land and it could never be taken from you (with something like $6/year in property taxes). There were only three types of cars and they were all cheap and easy to repair. Life was simple. Life was stress free. Food and shelter is assured. There is no stress of how you will get your next meal. Coming from that environment into capitalism is extremely stressful! He worries about how if he gets sick he can’t pay his bills and he loses his house, etc. The potential of greater opportunity was not a good trade from his perspective for the security. I could be content with ‘the simple life’ but I would never be content with not being able to do more to get more. I guess it all depends where you are raised!
Anyway, this guy weighs probably 90lbs less than me, and can destroy me in Ne-Waza (ground fighting). He is amazing, and only a white belt himself. Oh, he’s also the guy who broke his toe on 8/2 in Judo Class 15. Guy can’t catch a break! Oh bad joke.
So much to learn!