We had our first marathon grappling session yesterday, and we ended up rolling for over thirty-five minutes straight! It. Was. Awesome. About halfway through I started getting pretty tired, so I was forced to relax and fight smarter. I was surprised at how well I grappled after that. I was able to feel everything much better when I stopped overthinking. I also didn't get crazy with attempting submissions. If I saw one I would put it on, but then I would just let go after a few seconds so I wouldn't waste all my energy, and to keep the roll going. It's kind of a new thing for me to grapple with someone who is smaller than me, and also has less training than I do, but I think Kristy is the perfect partner to help me train, especially for competition. She is not easy to submit, and she already has a strong understanding of the grappling game. I am so grateful that I now have someone who I know I can count on to want to roll with me. She thinks she's a slow learner, but I think it will be a very short amount of time before she is dominating me in every roll. To prove my point, when we grappled again at the end of women's jiu-jitsu class yesterday, she mounted and submitted me in less than a minute!
I see nothing but good things to come from our new dedication to helping each other become the best we can be. The next time she steps in the cage, I will be so excited to see how much I have helped her skills improve, and I will be so proud to say "I train with her!"