Just the Two of Us

It was even quieter during Ethridge class yesterday, because Amy wasn't able to make it, so Joe and I had the dojo all to ourselves! I decided to just show him some of the different things I've recently learned at LBJJ, and he asked me if I was sure I wanted to teach him new techniques to use against me, so I told him that I was only showing them to him so I could remember them for myself, and I asked him to please try to not actually learn anything.  Unfortunately, I think I did a better job of teaching than I normally do! Seriously, I'm surprised at how well I've been remembering details these days, and teaching him really helps both of us.

Joe said he guessed that I didn't want him to teach me what he had learned from Shihan at his last Jiu-Jitsu class, and without even knowing what it was, I said "No, I don't!". I told him that right now I just want to focus on things I learn at LBJJ, and that is true, but I also suspected that what he had learned might involve some kind of throw, which I did not want to do.

Unlike most Ethridge classes, which have a high percentage of grappling, I opted to not roll with Joe at all yesterday, we just drilled. I figured that was the safest route, since Amy wasn't there to referee, but mostly because my knees were bothering me. Not rolling was actually a nice change of pace, I didn't get frustrated (or tell Joe that I hated him ;) one single time!

Fade to Black

Lines 1-4 were what I was thinking what Conan said we had to teach.

I went back to Jiu-Jitsu yesterday after taking a whopping eight days off to heal from my most recent injury, and I managed to make it through class without hurting myself again! Well, except for my self-esteem, due to an epic fail when Conan made each of us teach a technique. A black curtain descended over my brain, and I could not think of a single thing. Conan literally had to try to show me what I was supposed to teach while everyone watched, it was truly awful. I'm sure it appeared to the class that I know absolutely nothing about Jiu-Jitsu, and I can't disagree. I guess I don't want anyone to take that "Worst Jiu-Jitsu Teacher Ever" award away from me!

The two white belts who were there, Jordan and Wes, did a much better job of teaching than I did. I mean, they actually taught something. Of course, Wes went right before me, and he taught the scissor sweep, which was what I had been planning on teaching, so when it was my turn, I went blank. Yeah well, I'm sure I would've done a crappy job teaching that anyway, so I'm just going to own my failure. At least I'm still there trying.

To ensure that I didn't aggravate the multiple minor injuries that I'm still healing from, I didn't roll at the end of class, but the slow-rolling portion near the beginning was awesome! I wish we had done more of that...like for the entire class...instead of taking turns teaching.

Meh, I'm still glad I went to class.

Round & Round

Amy called in sick to Ethridge Jiu-Jitsu class yesterday, so I ended up teaching again. It was actually kind of nice that I didn't know I would have to teach, because I didn't have time to freak out about it, but I'm not good at coming up with a plan on the fly, so it was a more of a free-form class. Joe and I reviewed some techniques, then we just started grappling, stopping to work on different things that came up.

At first I didn't tell Joe I had a personal theme I was focusing on, but he noticed that I was spending a lot of time on top, so I told him my goal was to gain top position and stay there for as long as I could. Since day one, Amy has been telling me to stop desperately trying to hold onto failing positions, and instead transition to other positions, thereby maintaining control. Recently I've really began to understand that for a smaller person such as myself, fluidity is the key to maintaining top control. I'm probably not going to be able to lock most people down in one pin for any length of time, so I have to keep moving.

I imagine that to the Daitoryu students who were watching Joe and I grapple, we truly exemplified the term "rolling", because for awhile it felt like we just kept going round and round in circles. No laying in half-guard for twenty minutes for us! The nice thing for me was that I kept managing to get top position, and I was able to stay there a little longer each time. I didn't just try to stay on top, I did attempt to submit Joe (unsuccessfully), but not from guard (like I usually do), I only used guard to help me get on top. The best part was when Joe asked "When did you get so heavy?".

After class was over yesterday, Sensei Tracey from Daitoryu told Joe that it looked like I had been beating him, and I don't think he would have gotten that same impression if I would've played my usual guard game. Last week in Ethridge class our "final death match" abruptly ended after I reversed Joe, and while trying to establish top position I took an elbow to the mouth, which had me tasting blood. Amy declared Joe the winner, and when I protested by saying he cheated, she replied that it was more like I had thrown my face into his elbow, not the other way around! Since Amy wasn't there to name a winner this week, and there was no submission, I hereby claim victory...if only for the fact that I did not bleed.

"Tightened our belts, abuse ourselves..." -Ratt

Success

I did it! I actually taught an entire Jiu-Jitsu class to my husband that didn't descend into chaos and anarchy! I went into it with a theme and a plan, so it was a big improvement over last week. I even had warm-up drills that tied right into the techniques we worked on.

The theme of the day was...drumroll...submissions from guard! Seeing as how I really like guard, and I really like submissions, I figured that would be a good choice. As a result, not only did I have confidence in what I was teaching, I also had fun doing it.

The subs we practiced were kimura, omoplata, armbar, and of course, triangle choke. We spent the most time on the first two, because Joe has the least amount of experience with them. I have to admit it was kind of enjoyable to watch him try to understand the omoplata, since I'd struggled so long and hard to figure it out myself. Of course, that struggle is what enabled me to be able to answer every question he had about it!

So, Ethridge class was a success this week. I think I did a decent job, and Joe might have even learned something. He didn't have any complaints (except for some minor whining about his abs hurting afterward ;). That doesn't mean I'm at all ready to teach a "real" class, but I'm a little bit closer than I was before.

"I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed." -Michael Jordan

K.I.S.S.

Amy isn't going to be there for Ethridge Jiu-Jitsu class again tomorrow, so I'm going to get another shot at teaching Joe. This time I'm trying to go into it with a better game plan, so I asked Conan if he had any advice for me.  Here's the abridged version of what he said:

Keep it simple. Do lots of repetitions. Pick something that you feel comfortable with. 

Have a theme so that everything you work on is related in some way. One way to create a theme is to link techniques together.

Don't think you have to cover a wide range of techniques. Sometimes I spend an entire class just on how to do an armbar. Sometimes the focus is on all the little details, such as squeezing thighs together and extending hip. Sometimes the focus is on the same armbar, just different entries.

Did I mention, keep it simple.

I still haven't decided exactly what I want to work on, but in keeping with the idea of "teach what you know" I'm leaning more towards guard work, maybe something along the lines of transitioning from kimura to omoplata, because I feel pretty confident in my knowledge in that area, and Joe could benefit from it. The class I taught last week was so unfocused and random that really anything we do tomorrow will be an improvement. Keep it simple, stupid!

Blind Leading the Blind

And the award for the World's Worst Jiu-Jitsu Teacher goes to...Gina "Ginger" Ethridge!

I can't believe I won! Actually, that's a lie, I knew I was going to win because no one deserves this more than I do, and I have no one to thank but myself. Since this is probably the only Jiu-Jitsu award I will ever win, I would like to take this opportunity to say nana nana boo boo, I suck at teaching more than you do!

Amy flew off to Hawaii and left us without a teacher for Ethridge Jiu-Jitsu class yesterday, so I tried to fill her shoes, and I failed miserably! I should've had a better idea of what I wanted to do. At first my plan mainly consisted of slow rolling, so that I could help Joe work on some of the details, but I almost lost my student about ten minutes into class, when I became super frustrated because he couldn't understand what I was trying to show him. I knew what he was supposed to do, but when he asked me why he was supposed to do it that way, I didn't know the answer. So I stole Ray away from the no gi class and enlisted his help for a couple of minutes, which was very beneficial to both Joe and I. Teaching is hard! Teaching your husband is even harder!! Teaching when you still don't have a clear understanding of all the details is the hardest of all!!!

Then a little while later Conan was kind enough to offer us his assistance, and he recommended that we just work on a particular drill where we took turns escaping side control. Things went smoother after that, and we got some good work in. I also showed Joe a drill we had done earlier this week where you escape mount to guard, and then scissor sweep to mount, setting the next person up to do the drill. Those kind of exercises are always good practice, because you don't stop moving, and it really helps build muscle memory.

I originally told Joe that my plan for class yesterday was that I was going to submit him in every way I could think of, and he was not allowed to defend, but for some reason he didn't think that was a good idea. I would have aced that class! I suppose what we did end up doing was much more mutually beneficial, but it took all of the fun out of being in charge! ;)

Tag, you're a zombie

One of the more popular games that Joe and I played with the kids during our Halloween Karate class was Zombie Tag.  We separated the class into two groups, with half starting as survivors and the other as zombies.  Then the survivors got in a group in the middle, and the zombies spread out around the perimeter.  The survivors are allowed to run, but the zombies can only walk slowly, and if they touch a survivor they're immediately turned into a zombie.  One of the kids asked if the zombies would then turn into survivors, but I had to tell him "No, once a zombie, always a zombie."

At first it didn't seem as though any of the survivors would get tagged, but one by one they all fell.  As more people were turned into zombies, it snowballed.  I was impressed with how the zombie children figured out that they could work together to corner the survivors.  I was also impressed that I didn't see any of the survivors sacrificing one of their own to save themselves from the zombies!

After everyone became zombified, we split back into our original groups and did it again, with the kids who started out as zombies the first time being survivors the second time, and vice versa.  Everyone in class thought the game was awesome, and I think the most important thing we learned is that during a zombie tag apocalypse, everyone eventually turns into a zombie.  You can prolong it for awhile, but in the end, the zombies always win.

 Zombieland Tag Survival Rule #1: Cardio

Teacher

Thankfully there are no cornfields in Lincoln.

My husband Joe left for Kansas yesterday with a group of youth Karate students who are competing in a tournament today, so I made good on my declaration to teach kids more often by taking over the Friday Youth Karate class in his absence.  Before class Joe asked me "So, are you going to teach them Jiu-Jitsu?" and I responded "Duh!".

We didn't do groundwork the entire time, I warmed them up with relay races, and we practiced some blocking, punching, and kicking.  Then we headed over to the mat and did some things that adults usually don't enjoy but kids seem to think are fun, such as butt-scooting across the mat, and laying on your stomach and pulling yourself across.  Luckily I convinced my daughter Skyler to come to class with me, so she helped demonstrate the pins we worked on after that.  Joe told me he'd recently shown them mount and guard, so I had them practice scarf hold and back mount.

There were about twelve kids under the age of ten (and two dads who joined in), all of whom were white belts.  When I got to the dojo I was a little afraid that the class was going to descend into complete and utter chaos, with children taking weapons off the rack and chasing each other down the street, but it actually went pretty well.  I have no idea whether I really taught anyone anything, but when I told them that we were out of time, the entire class let out a collective "awww" in disappointment. 

We didn't practice anything on the mat that they wouldn't have done in one of our youth Judo classes, but I did let them know that the reason we were doing groundwork was because Skyler and I are also Jiu-Jitsu students.  Several of the kids told me they had fun, and when we were in the changing room after class, one of the girls could not contain her excitement over having two female Sensei teaching Karate class!  I'm glad I volunteered to teach, and my presence in the youth class will definitely be a more regular occurrence.

Teach Your Children

I haven't really taught kids at the dojo for awhile, and last Friday when I went in to help Joe with his Halloween class, I realized how much I miss it. Even though I've only given birth to one child, throughout my life I've spent a lot of time caring for children. I started babysitting when I was fourteen, and I spent many of my summer breaks from school doing full-time daycare. I also worked as a paraeducator for Head Start for a few years, and I still occasionally help my friends and family with child care.  I enjoy working with kids.

When I was growing up I was sometimes bullied, and I would often form closer relationships with the adults in my life than with other children. Almost all of the adults who I befriended, even those I didn't meet through school, were teachers. It's no coincidence that whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said "a teacher".

I know that some of our youth Karate students started training because they were being bullied, and I know that martial arts can help give them the tools to deal with that. I've seen what training did for my own daughter; how it gave her the confidence to be comfortable in her own skin, and to not let anyone push her around. If one of those teachers that I was friends with as a child had been a martial artist, I believe it could have helped me a great deal.

I've been away from the youth class for too long, and it's time to go back. I want to make a difference in the lives of children, I want to help them realize their full potential. At Friday's class one of the newer students stuck to me like glue the entire time (I was dressed as a clown, so that might have something to do with it) and when he asked me who I was I said "Gina". Then another student who's been there for awhile said "She's Sensei Gina". Some of the kids have been calling me Sensei since I was a green belt, and it's time for me to start being one for them again.

"Can you hear and do you care and
Can't you see we must be free to
Teach your children what you believe in.
Make a world that we can live in." -CSN and sometimes Y

Ready or Not

Sonya

Despite my reluctance, I guess I'm going to have to add the label "teaching" to this blog, because I taught women's Jiu-Jitsu class again yesterday, and unlike last week, this time I did have a new student! It was one of our green belt Judoka, Sonya, so at least I already knew her, and she already had some knowledge. One day last week I saw her before she went to Judo, and I invited her to come to women's Jiu-Jitsu class. Little did I know she would actually show up yesterday, and that Amy would still be sick!

Sonya requested to work on Jiu-Jitsu techniques that she could use in Judo, so I had to scratch my lesson plan and come up with a new one.  The last Sunday of the month in women's class is usually no gi, and I'd planned on doing a lot of cross-facing, neck-cranking, and calf-cutting! I figured guard would be a good thing to work on with Sonya, and although she did have a basic knowledge of it, she didn't really know how to pass, or how to do any subs from there.

Since we focused on guard one of the things we practiced was, of course, my fave, sankaku-jime. Sonya didn't think she would be able to do a triangle choke because she has short legs, but she was able to lock it up. As long as you can do that, shorter legs can actually be beneficial, because there's less room to escape. Sonya's triangles were nice and tight, and she seemed to really understand the mechanics when I explained it to her.

I felt a little more comfortable in the teaching role yesterday, but my class was still somewhat random and unfocused. Skyler said she thought I didn't spend enough time on each technique, and that I tried to fit too much in. I think this is a common mistake many new teachers make, maybe because we don't want our students to get bored, or we want to teach them as much as possible.

Sonya said she felt like she really learned a lot, so hopefully that is true. After class I told her this was only the second time I've ever taught Jiu-Jitsu, and she seemed genuinely surprised, so I thought that was a good sign. I welcomed her to come back any time (preferably when Amy is teaching ;) and she said that she was interested. Watch out, Judo...your women are being tempted by the dark side!

Where there's a Will

So, I just reluctantly taught my first Jiu-Jitsu class (consisting of one student) last Sunday, then yesterday when I got to the dojo there was a bunch of freaking white belts and Fuji. I was like "Oh, hell no! If someone who outranks me doesn't show up in the next five minutes, screw you guys, I'm going home!". Luckily a knight in a shining purple belt, Will, came in and rescued me from having to teach. Phew!

Will & Jerad

I don't know if I really would have left, but I was in full panic mode prior to Will's arrival. I suppose I could have done alright teaching, since most of the students were actual white belts who don't know anything (as opposed to trained people from other places masquerading as white belts, or worse...white belts who think they know everything). You have no idea how often I, as a blue belt woman, have new white belt guys trying to tell me how to do things. It might be because I can come across as having no confidence, but it's truly amusing when new people try to teach me things and they are just absolutely wrong. However, the white belts I worked with yesterday did not say anything to me, they just did whatever I told them to. I think I could have been their leader if I had to.

I couldn't have done nearly as good of a job as Will did, though, and we surely would not have worked on X guard. Also if I was the teacher, it probably wouldn't have been cool for me to attack Bauer in the middle of class and tap that punk out! So, I'm extra glad Will took the helm, and it's awesome to see his progression, he is really turning into a great teacher. Maybe someday I will be, too.

Student teacher

Man, am I sore, our women's Jiu-Jitsu teacher really worked us hard...oh wait, that was me!  That's right, I taught my very first Jiu-Jitsu class today.  Skyler was my only student, but hey, you have to start somewhere!  Our women's teacher, Amy, has pneumonia, so I volunteered to teach instead of cancelling class.  Our other student, AJ, is also sick, so it ended up just being Skyler and I.  I must admit that I was slightly terrified at the prospect of a new student showing up today, but I was willing to teach them if they had.

I don't know that I really taught Skyler anything, I didn't have a lesson plan, and class seemed a little random.  It's also kind of hard to teach when you don't have anyone to demonstrate on except the person you are trying to teach.  One thing we did a lot of was slow rolling.  Skyler sometimes has a tendency to get flustered while grappling, so I wanted to remove the pressure and allow her to get more practice with feeling things, and have more time to figure out what to do.

Slow rolling is actually difficult for me, I always want to pick up the pace, so it was good practice for both of us.  One thing I've been working on lately is sweeping from all forms of guard, so I did a lot of that while we rolled, and it often ended with me mounting Skyler, which is one of her weaknesses, so she was able to get a lot of practice escaping mount. 

Overall, I think it was a successful first class.  Teaching made me really think about what I was doing, because I wanted to get the details right when I explained things.  I'm sure I didn't get all of them right, but I give myself an "A" for effort!