segregated classes and other nonsense

The beautiful thing about the internet is that people can post whatever they want. So, it's brimming with crazy ideas.  Visit any forum, blog, or Facebook group, and you see people posting their opinions. Some have thought-provoking posts; some have funny posts; some have smart and rational posts; some have political posts; some have religious posts; some have well-researched posts; some have super awesome jiu jistu posts; some have dumb posts; some have deliberately offensive posts; some have posts that just don't make any sense.



There is a lot of good information online, but there is an equal amount of nonsense. So, we have to pick and choose what we get worked up about. This week, someone posted on Sherdog that Ronda Rousey would have won UFC 1. This is an example of someone having a crazy idea. My instructor, a die-hard Royce Gracie brown belt, was rightfully miffed.  But, he acknowledged, it was probably posted by some 15-year-old, typing in his parents' basement. In other words, someone not worth the space in his head that it would take to get upset. If Royce and Ronda were to get  into an octagon together, my instructor knows that Royce would emerge the victor. So who cares what some nit wit thinks?

Recently, there was a discussion on the Facebook page of one of my favorite bloggers, Jiu Jiu, about whether men and women should roll together. Like most serious lady-grapplers, she didn't see how this issue should even be up for debate - of course  men and women should roll with each other. Women are such a minority in jiu jtisu that to segregate the sexes would mean to seriously limit training opportunities for women.  But a couple of guys, who never rolled a day in their lives and didn't know a lick about jiu jitsu, posted their own crazy ideas. But I took them with a grain of salt. Who cares? Fools like those do not deserve any space in my head. They don't even train! Maybe they actually believe the sexist things they say or maybe they are just trying to pick a fight (with women who could absolutely choke them, mind you. Not a great plan). It's easy not to let guys like those get to me, though, because there's no question they have no idea what they are talking about. They are not worth the space in my head that it would take to get upset.

But what do you do when someone who outranks you, someone who unquestionably knows more jiu jitsu than you do, holds the same beliefs? Beliefs that limit your own opportunities to train?

I went out of town a couple of times this summer. And being a complete BJJ addict, I find it very hard to go more than a couple of days without training. So when I travel, I usually find a local BJJ gym and go train there.  

My husband and I showed up at a gym and, as we often do, partnered up to drill together. There were no other women in the school, except one, who was brand-spanking-this-is-my-1st-week- new. The instructor, a Brazilian black belt who spoke better Portuguese than English, pulled me away from my husband to partner with the new girl. This was cool by me. I want women to feel comfortable doing jiu jitsu, and if that means drilling with another female at first, I'm happy to be that person. At my home gym, I often choose to drill with one of the few other women because a) I like them and think they are good training partners and b) all things being equal, sometimes it's nice to work with another lady.

When it came time to roll, the new girl and I were still partnered together. Again, I was happy to roll with her for a round. This was her first week, so I gave her plenty of space and encouragement. There was no point in me smashing her. This was my time to be an ambassador to the sport. Plenty of guys were nice to me when I was brand new and I was happy to return the jiu jitsu karma.

The gym had formed into 2 lines. After the  first roll was over, the instructor told line 1 to move down 1 person, "except the girls." We were expected to stay together.  This happened after every single round - everyone moved onto a new person, except for the 2 of us. And I grew increasingly frustrated. I had to stay with the same brand new person  every single round. Not because we were the same rank; not because we were the same size; not because we were the same level of athleticism; simply because we both were female.

Not only were my partner and I not a good match for each other's skill level, but we weren't a good physical match either.The new girl was petite, while I am a former swimmer, jacked up on crossfit. In other words, I had at least 30 lbs of muscle on her. But, since she was smaller than me and brand new, I was trying very hard to "roll nice," at the expense of my own chance to get a workout. I was getting antsy.

The next time the instructor said "switch," I inconspicuously moved down one person, just like everyone else. But he caught me and said, "no, girls stay together." Then he added, "This is the last round." In other words, this was my last chance to work up any kind of a sweat, but I was only allowed to workout with the new girl.



Reaching a breaking point, I summoned the courage to ask "Can I roll with one of the guys, just once?" The instructor reluctantly obliged. It turned out other people in the class wanted to train with me too, and some stayed after class to do so. I finally got in a BJJ workout, but only after the instructor had left.

This experience bothered me a lot more than the deluded rantings of some guys on Facebook ever will. This was not some idiot who knows nothing about our art. This was a black belt, a class instructor, someone who teaches sound techniques, and someone whose skill level I absolutely aspire to. Someone who was good enough to take up space in my head.

Blast from the past!

I was preparing my computer for a new school year, cleaning out my files to make space on my hard drive, when I found something that gave me pause. I found a practice video of me rolling exactly 2 years ago, in Aug, 2010 - when I was very new to jiu jitsu.

At first this video was hard for me to watch because I never realized how much I sucked -and I mean REALLY sucked. But after a few minutes, I got over myself and it just made me laugh. Of COURSE I sucked. I had been training at my school for only a few weeks, after training at a McDojo for a couple of months before that. So I knew nothing. But the scary thing is, folks at the McDojo told me I was good...and I actually believed them! And now I have very clear evidence to the contrary.

And yes, as my instructor said, I probably learned a thousand things when I first watched this video. But watching it years later, I learned a few more things:

1) Super cool head gear never goes out of style. These days I so casually flirt with cauliflower ear on a regular basis. But I still have the awesome ear protection in my bag, should I ever need it. Better safe than sorry!

2) I had zero natural aptitude for jiu jtisu, martial arts, or generally moving my body on land. Left to my own devices, I would still flop around on the mats like a giant tuna out of water.

3) With regular training, you will inevitably get better. I'm a lowly blue belt, but I am a whole lot better than I was in this video. Regular practice (at a legitimate gym, with a good coach and good training partners) can overcome any amount of spazziness!

So how do you feel when you watch your early matches? Were you a spaz like me? Or do you see some spark of natural talent? 

seminars vs. tournaments

If you are reading my blog, you probably feel the way I do - that jiu jistu is the most awesome sport in the world (either that, or you read my blog because you're my friend on Facebook. That's cool too). But if you feel the way I do, you probably have a deep appreciation for just how much there is to learn in this art. Jiu jitsu is constantly evolving. And it is well-known that it takes longer to earn  a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu than in any other martial art.

And that's what attracts me most to BJJ. Even as my strength, speed, and athleticism will inevitably decline with age, I expect that increases in my skill level will more than make up for that. I am 31-years-old now, but I have no doubt that 41-year-old Kim would be able to take my current self in a fight. I have full confidence that 51-year-old Kim would be able to take 31-year-old Kim as well. In what other sport could I say that? I will be able to beat my current self, even when I am middle aged. There is THAT much to learn in jiu jitsu. It is important to note that my current self is a relative newbie, so I am starting at a lowish level.

But all this knowledge comes at a price. Regular training isn't cheap. (Settle down, you. I'm not saying that it's not worth it. Jiu jitsu training is priceless and may even save my life one day). But training jiu jitsu certainly costs more than most gym memberships. But for many of us, even this isn't enough. We want to get more out of jiu jitsu than what we learn on our home mats every week. Many of us compete in tournaments and go to seminars to augment our regular training.

And as much as we would like to, there comes a point where we can't do it all. We have to prioritize. We ask ourselves what is REALLY helping us get better. We were discussing this issue after the last NC women's open mat and my friend Mary Holmes asked the following: "What do you learn more from - tournaments or seminars?"


The answer depends on the needs of the individual. But for me, at this point in time, I learn more from tournaments than I do from seminars. This is why in the past few months, I have gone on a seminar "diet" while I continue to compete as often as I possibly can. My reasons for this are the following:

- At seminars, I get information overload. I quickly reach a point where my brain has absorbed all that it is going to. There is so much information and I come to a place where I just can't process anymore.

- A lot of seminars focus on advanced moves. As a blue belt, beginner and intermediate moves are my bread and butter. When I learn moves that are above my skill level, they are hard for me to digest and basically impossible for me to incorporate into my game. When I learn moves that I can't immediately use, they are quickly forgotten and my money is wasted.

- At tournaments, I learn a ton about my own strengths and weaknesses. I videotape  my matches and review them with my coaches. The feedback I get is directly relevant to my game.



- During training, I roll with men 90% of the time (not wimpy guys mind you, but strong, athletic, jiu jitsu guys). I'm no weakling myself, but when I have trouble pulling off a move against guys my rank, it is very easy for me to attribute my failure to differences in size or strength. Often times, this excuse is valid. But other times, I'm just plain doing the technique wrong. In training, it's hard for me to know the difference. But when I compete in a tournament with other women my size, I KNOW that any problems that I may incur are due to technical deficits. In this way, tournaments keep me honest.

- I love to compete. I always have. To me, tournaments are a lot of fun. Seminars, on the other hand, remind me of school. School is boring. All things being equal, my preference leans toward tournaments.

Which do YOU learn more from - tournaments or seminars? Which do you prefer?

cool guy handshake (dap)

When women begin to study jiu jitsu, there are some things that take getting used to. Our hygiene standards diminish. Good hair days after rolling become few and far between. And we are expected to practice new social greetings.

 

No, don't be ridiculous. We may roll around on the ground for fun, but we are not animals. 

 Bingo!

In the BJJ community, dap is the greeting of choice. If you are unfamiliar, I would describe it as a type  of cool guy handshake. This is what Wikipedia says about it - "Though it can refer to many kinds of greetings involving hand contact, dap is best known as a complicated routine of shakes, slaps, snaps, and other contact that must be known completely by both parties involved. Dap greetings sometimes include a pound hug." 

Cool guys have been greeting each other this way for decades. It gained popularity among soldiers during the Vietnam war and it continues to be popular among male musicians, athletes, and other cool guys. 

Most women, however, don't do this. We typically greet each other in one of two ways:

Formal

Familiar

So, when a coach or teammate extends his hand for a friendly exchange of dap, it is easy for a female BJJ player to misread the signal and fall back into her previous pattern of greetings.  

This is what happens when dap collides with a hug:

Don't let this awkward exchange happen to you! Learn dap and drill it until it becomes natural. As with any BJJ move, dap can be developed through regular practice. In time, you too can build muscle memory and add this move to your repertoire.   

Mundials Recap

We are back from the mundials! Overall, it was an awesome experience. From the time we stepped on the plane to Long Beach, we were surrounded by jiu jitsu all the time. (You think metal detectors and security guards help you feel secure in an airport? You should try getting on a plane with a half a dozen jiu jitsu black belts).

One highlight of the trip was the opportunity to spend time with my gal pals:

 with Penny Thomas and Leticia Ribeiro 

Gabrielle Garcia

Ronda Rousey

Of course, by “spend time with,” I mean to pose briefly for pictures. And by “gal pals,” I mean world-class bad asses who didn’t run away from me when I followed them. Either way, it was a surreal feeling to rub noses with the jiu jitsu and judo celebrities that I aspire to be like. 

The other highlight was that two of my teammates brought home medals! Jason Mask and Jeff Shaw both took home bronze metals in the senior 1, white belt division. This was the first time that anyone from North Carolina had medaled at this tournament.  I know it’s something they will remember for a long time. (Jason wants to get a mundials tattoo in case he gets dementia or something, but I am doing my best to veto this idea).

Days before the tournament, I got to work Google-stalking my competition.  It may sound weird and creepy, but rest assured that I did not do this in the dark, in my parents’ basement, or while eating a sandwich. My mind was innocent - I just wanted to know who I was up against. It was a tough field; many competitors had won major tournaments. But I believed that I had as good of a chance as anyone. 

After brackets were posted, I felt my odds start to drop. In my first round, I had the luck to get paired with the defending blue belt world champion. She also had just won the gi Pan Ams in the weight class above mine. This was going to be tough. I knew that I had to treat this match like it was the only one I would have. To give anything less than 100% would mean getting smashed. I had to respect my opponent enough to put everything I had on the mats.

I reported to the bull pen game face on, ready to go…and then I had uniform problems.  First, the patches on my pants didn’t pass inspection, and my teammates had to rip them off with coins and their fingernails. Then the sleeves on my brand new Fenom gi were deemed too short.  (Really the gi fit fine, but I was standing like a hyper-extended  zombie, instead of like a normal jiu jitsu player up for gi inspection).

How normal people stand for sleeve inspection:

Hyper-extended zombie:

They told me that I had to change my gi and that I had 5 minutes to do it. Luckily, I had a spare gi in my bag. Of course, the brand logo on my other pants didn’t meet approval either and this time it was not removable. Jason ran as fast as he could to buy me a gi from one of the vendors. I tried on the third gi and it fit me like a sack. Jason ran to exchange it, and finally this new gi passed inspection. Right in the nick of time!

my match video

I pushed the gi drama out of my head and fought my match. Six minutes flew by before the ref could say could say "combate!."  Before I knew it, there were 10 sec left and I was up 4 to 2! All I had to do was not get swept and I would win. My coach was yelling at me to base out on my knees, but I couldn’t hear him. I stayed on my feet in her guard…and sure enough, I got swept. The score was tied 4 to 4, but I was down 1 advantage (for some reason I didn’t get awarded an advantage for my kimura). And so I lost the match.

For an hour or so I was absolutely heartbroken.  I knew that it wasn’t rational to feel the way I did, because I had done really well, against a really good opponent.  But it was hard to come to grasps with the fact that I had put so much into training camp, took time off work, flew across the country, and had nothing to show for it. All that time, money, and work for just 6 minutes. But that’s how it is with major tournaments.  

Sometimes it’s not about how many matches you have or even how you place. There is a certain amount of chance involved. You might get a bye in the first round, you might get an easy opponent, or you might get paired with the defending world champion. I am grateful to have had the chance to see how I stack up against the very best in my division. And I think this experience will make me more confident and better prepared the next time I compete.

World Jiu Jitsu Championships

Tomorrow, I leave for Long Beach to compete in the mundials (Portuguese for "world championships for folks who want to break your arm or choke you unconscious").  My coach Seth Shamp and my teammates Ryan Hanseler, Hameed Sanders, Jeff Shaw, and Jason Mask are going to compete as well. It's the biggest and most prestigious tournament that I have ever participated in, so I am a mixture of excitement and nerves.

Since I've had my blue belt for less than a year, I know there will be people in my division who  have been training for a lot longer than I have. There might be someone more technical, more knowledgeable,  more flexible, faster, stronger, or with better cardio. But my competition is not something that I can control. The only thing that I can do is bring the best Kim Rice that I possibly can. And that's what I've been working on!

My training camp has consisted of the following:

1) Lots of drilling and positional rolling. I figured out my strengths and weaknesses and did my best to improve both. I don't focus on advanced moves. At my level, I don't feel like I need them, as long as my basics are solid. What I do need to know are the counters  to advanced moves, so that's what I've been drilling.

2) I've been trying to get as flexible as possible. I'm no yogi pretzel, but I've been doing a lot of Bikram yoga. I gradually feel myself getting more bendy and that's translated to some noticeable improvements on the mats.

3) Getting swoll. For the first time in my life, I've made it my mission to get as strong as possible. For better or worse, I have the body type that if I casually glance at a barbell, I start to put on muscle. So I decided to embrace it. I started doing crossfit, and yes, I got a lot stronger (see exhibits b and c).

Here's a picture of me before training camp:

exhibit a

and this is a picture of me now.

exhibit b

Even more frightening, here's a picture of me, post-training camp and post-pug snuggle:

exhibit c

As you can see, we both mean business.

All in all, I'm feeling pretty confident. My jiu jitsu is solid and I'm in the best shape of my adult life. Yes, a given person can beat me on any one of the above mentioned areas (technique, flexibility, speed, strength, cardio), but no one is going to beat me in ALL of these areas. I feel somewhere between "pretty good" and "very good" across the board. If I lose, it will not be because I didn't train hard enough. It will be because my opponent was legitimately better than me. But I am going to show up at check-ins with the very best Kim Rice of 2012 that I can bring. And that in itself is something to be proud of.  



 

motor learning, part 3

Last weekend was the US Grappling NC state championships, a tournament that I was using as a tune-up before the Mundials. I had some very good competition and ended up taking 2 golds and 2 silvers.  More importantly, the tournament served the two purposes I'd hoped it would - 1) it was a big confidence booster for me and 2) I got plenty of feedback on things to work on before the Mundials.

It also emphasized to me the importance of motor learning in jiu jitsu and pointed out some things that I really need to drill before the Mundials. Which beings me around to FINALLY posting part 3 of my motor learning blogs.

Here's what happened. Before the tournament, knowing that I have trouble taking down larger opponents, I came up with a go-to take down and drilled it about a thousand times. I drilled it with my instructor, my training partners, and my husband at home. Indeed, our house became an unsafe living environment, as I was constantly looking to set up this move. However, all the aforementioned people are right handed, so I drilled it only on the right side. Then at the tournament, my opponent reached for me with her left hand and I absolutely froze. I had no muscle memory for that side. My brain knew what to do, but my body did not. The move was of no use to me. I fumbled around on my feet for a while, before I myself got taken down.

I don't want something like this to happen to me at the Mundials. When I am adrenaline charged and rolling at tournament intensity, I know that the only moves that I have in my arsenal are those that I have successfully replicated time and again in practice. So as I step up my drilling these next few weeks, I will keep the following principles in mind, to maximize results.

•  The greater the amount of practice, the greater the likelihood that motor learning will occur. This is why drilling is so important. The more you practice a move correctly against no resistance, the greater the likelihood that you can access it during more stressful conditions.
• Practice should occur as frequently as possible. Four fifteen minute practice sessions spread out throughout the day is more conducive to motor learning than one full hour session. Drill something 5 min a day, everyday, for a week, and you are well on your way to having that move in your repertoire.
• Variability is important.  Vary the stimuli and the context of a behavior, so that it can occur in different situations. Drilling kamuras from guard is great. But consider drilling kamuras from guard, half guard, and side control if you want to generalize the skill to other contexts. 
• Target complex, whole movements, instead of simple pieces of movement.  Complex behaviors will generalize to simpler ones, but not vice versa. Drilling advanced moves, even if they seem above your head, can help you sharpen and refine basic movements. 
• It's better to receive feedback after, not while, a move is being performed. Do your best to talk yourself through it - then find out what you did wrong. If you rely on someone to walk you through it, performance decreases when that someone is no longer there. 
• Sensory learning is uber important. Paying attention to how a move feels, rather than the mechanics of it, increases the likelihood of motor learning. One of my instructors likes to close his eyes while drilling and sometimes rolling. It seemed silly to me at first and a good way to grab someone's boob or maybe a handful of ass-fabric. That is, until he made me try it. Now I'm a believer.

Of course, I'm not an expert. But these ideas help me teach my kiddos at work to say their S's and R's. So maybe they can help me learn jiu jitsu too.