Ego check-up

Wow, it's amazing what a few surgical incisions and almost 2 months off can do to your game.. and perhaps even more important, your perspective.

I

like mine with a helping of "Just Win Baby!" Syrup.

Like most people in sports I suffer(ed) from a sort of "Win at all costs" attitude. Yes, it's not for lack of trying, but frequently the "old Ego" gets it's way and decides that a loss is.. well it's just plain unpleasant and must be avoided at all costs. Even more so, heaven forbid that loss actually occur, the Ego will start in on me the moment I stop.. things like..

"How could you let that happen? I thought you were better than that."

or

"Sigh, your game is sucking wind today, heck when was the last time it wasn't?"

or

"I've seen octogenarians with better moves!"

Yes, as you can see the Ego still plays a roll in my "rolls", and today was no different. You'd think having just returned to my first full week of activity since painful Hernia surgery I wouldn't mind "losing a few to get back into the groove". Oh no, that same old Ego crept in and the berating tone was there before I could get up..

Now, here's where things changed, months ago if something like this happened I would have avowed to double my efforts, spend more time practicing, grab a friend on a weekend, try to hit a private, etc, etc.

You know what happened this time?

I smiled and thought, I don't have time for that any more, I have a daughter that's rapidly growing up, a business that is expanding into foreign markets, I have language lessons, and home improvement work, I have to spend time with my wife, and make sure my customers and clients are happy.

Bottom line, I just don't have time to "worry" about my Jiu-Jitsu anymore.

And you know something, I think that might not be such a bad thing after all, it's time to just have some fun for a while and see how things go, I promise I'll give my body more leeway as things gradually improve, but most importantly, no more worrying about my game, it's time to just play again.

Go "play" and have fun!

-hz

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I'm back Baby!

I am the Phoenix.

"A phoenix is a mythical bird with a tail of beautiful gold and red plumage (or purple and blue, by some sources ^[1]). It has a 600-800 year life-cycle, and near the end the phoenix builds itself a nest of cinnamon twigs that it then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again. The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self."

-Source Wikipedia Phoenix (Mythology)

Ok, so I'm no phoenix, but I "rolled" for the first time in 6 weeks on Friday.

Wow, there was so much rust you could break it off with your hands.. but.. well, Good Lord it was good to be back.

Here's what I did (and I was clearly very happy with the outcome).

I called one of our instructors and set up a private lesson for Friday morning. Sure privates are more expensive, but here's my logic.

1. I still have small surgery scars on my abs, making certain passes/sweeps difficult, I wanted to roll/train with a professional that would have the utmost in control.

2. It's been a while, and anyone with a few years of experience know that when the "more experienced" guy is injured or recovering he can look just like chum to a gung ho newbie, a new ruptured hernia wall I DO NOT need.

3. I wanted to have fun and get up to speed on what I missed.

All in all, great session, no real rolling as I would describe it, but a few impromptu flows that were at perhaps 40% strength, bottom line it really felt great to move, turn, roll, and spin in a manner that 4 weeks ago I thought I'd NEVER be able to do again.

Does this mean I'm back to 100%? No, not hardly, it means that starting Monday I go through two weeks of conditioning and perhaps one "live fire" class where I act smart and say "no" when needed to maintain the continued recovery.

So, interested in my "return to conditioning" training for next week? I'll post some stills/videos or something to show what I'll be doing, everything comes from my good buddy JC Santana's materials, all of which you can find here.

Nice to be back, and even nicer to be able to share it with you guys.

Enjoy!

-hz

Blogged with the Flock Browser