Appreciating Adam

During Jiu-Jitsu yesterday, I ended up working with one of our purple belts, Adam, for most of the class.  There were an uneven number of people, so Adam and I just rotated together and worked in threes with different partners.  When we were practicing the arm triangle, David laid down on the mat so I could do it on him again, but I said "It's Adam's turn, I haven't gotten to choke him yet!", and Adam questioned "Why is everyone always out to get me?!" Oh Adam, do you really have to ask?

Whenever we do any kind of king of the mat, Adam is usually out there most of the time.  Sometimes when he's not in class (which is rare), we devote the entire time on how to beat him.  He is big, strong, and talented.  He's not called The Incredible Hulk for nothing!  He came into Jiu-Jitsu with a solid wrestling background, and he becomes more unstoppable every day.

Hulk smash!

Adam also asked me to roll during open mat yesterday, which I really appreciate, he's a great grappling partner.  He has very good body awareness, which allows him to bring it without completely obliterating me.  He is one of the strongest guys in class, but he never abuses his size or strength against me.  Frankly, he doesn't have to! 

Of course he submitted me with the very same arm triangle that we practiced in class.  When we went again, he made me painfully aware of the fact that I am not doing a good enough job of protecting my feet and legs when I'm working open guard (I physically cannot close my guard around Adam).  He even locked up a couple of good knee bars, but he let them go before I tapped, so we rolled until time ran out.

Adam is one of those awesome guys in Jiu-Jitsu class that I was talking about in my gratitude post.  From the first time I worked with him, he has always been respectful, helpful, friendly, and fun.  I don't get a chance to roll with him very often, because he is always in high demand, and I totally understand why.