Why I shouldn't be a blue belt

[skribs103]

No, not really. You talked about different single & double eliminations matches/tournaments. I appeared you have matched this guy previously in a double.

Ok. Let me try again.

• My first opponent was a guy I fought 3 weeks ago. I lost both times. Both times to a wristlock. Both times he apologized when I tapped. That last bit is getting on my nerves.

 

[skribs103]

I was standing up in my opponent's open guard. He had a collar grip and good frames with his feet, I had good pressure from a tripod position. My Professor yelled, "Step over the leg!" I wasn't sure which leg. But I couldn't see my Professor. So I turned me and my opponent around so I could see my Professor, then he shouted again and pointed where I was supposed to go.

My Professor said this reminded him of a story of when his professor competed and did something similar.

I have been compared to my Professor's Professor. I will never top this. It's time to retire.

 

[HighKick]

Ok. Let me try again.

Exactly, Did you lose to him Both times in a double elimination match or did your spar him in two singles and lost both times? It has never been clear.

 

[skribs103]

Setting up an armbar on my professor...I farted right in his face.

It's been nice knowing y'all.

 

[skribs103]

Exhibit BI

Yesterday, I was rolling with a rather uncoordinated white belt. We have some white belts that learn very fast and have really good instincts, and make me question the legitimacy of my rank. This is not one of them. As mentioned in another thread recently, I have been watching an instructional series on submission escapes. So with the lower belts, I've been letting them work into dominant positions so I can practice my submission defense.

I decided to open my half guard and let this guy pass to side control. I gave him plenty of time to pass. I started setting up the defensive position that Bernardo Faria described in the instructional. But something felt odd. After about ten seconds or so, I felt him clear the leg from half guard to side control.

The fact that it took him that long to realize all he had to do was step over the leg to get to side control is why he's a white belt. The fact I had a half guard for that long and thought he was in side control is why I should be one, too.

 

[skribs103]

We've got some new white belts at my gym. They're still at the phase where everything you do to them in a roll is a brand new experience. Last week, I was rolling with one, let him get to side control. Taught him the Americana. He said, "Can you do it on me so I can feel it?"

This week, same guy, I got him with a punch choke. His first reaction, "What did you even do?" Then, after I showed him, "Can you teach me?"

I think I have adopted a white belt.

 

[skribs103]

It's interesting...I'm going back up from Light to Medium. In my next tournament,

• There's a guy I've faced in my last two tournaments at Light, who is still in the Light bracket for my age/belt.
• There's a guy I faced last year as a Medium Blue, who is also Medium Purple and is in my bracket this year.

In the following tournament after that,

• I'm doing no-gi, which is "intermediate" (blue + purple) and age 31-40 instead of just 36-40. There's a former member of our gym that's also looking to compete in that bracket.

The brown and black belts at my gym go to tournaments and seem like they know everyone. Now I know why.

 

[skribs103]

Exhibit BJ
Yesterday, I was rolling with my professor. He had me in a gnarly knee-on-belly that took me forever to escape. When I finally got his knee of my belly, I saw him sliding into kesa gatame. I tapped (with some choice words for him).

I didn't just tap to pressure. I tapped to impending pressure.

 

[skribs103]

Exhibit BK
I sent my Professor a message asking if the move-of-the-day for the kids class is the same today as it was yesterday.

I realize I should probably include more context.

Exhibit BL
Yesterday's move-of-the-day was cross-collar choke.

Exhibit BM
Today is no-gi.

 

[skribs103]

Exhibit BN
I was workshopping an ankle lock from deep half guard with a brown belt (you may recognize him as the purple belt from the OP of this thread). He said it worked, but that was his bad knee. So in order to really see if it worked I should try it on his other leg.

"I don't know how to go to deep half on that leg."

 

[skribs103]

Exhibit BO
Black belt locked in a choke on me. When he tightened it, a booger shot out my nose.

 

[skribs103]

Exhibit BP (Circumstantial)
We have a blue belt, let's call him Dave, who once accidentally oil checked one of the coaches. He has yet to live this down.

Exhibit BQ
Yesterday I was rolling with one of the coaches (not the one Dave oil checked). He had me pinned in a north/south S-mount and was working to isolate an arm. Had me dead to rights, seconds away from a submission. I yelled, "DAVE! WHICH FINGER IS IT FOR AN OIL CHECK?!" The coach abandoned the position and reset to side control.

 

[skribs103]

Exhibit BR
Yesterday, I couldn't tap to a choke.

I didn't say "didn't tap". I couldn't.

It was an arm triangle. I was on my side. My arms couldn't reach anything. My feet were pointing the wrong way to tap the mat. I was being smothered so I couldn't say "tap".

I just flailed my freer arm and kicked my feet and my partner got the message.

 

[skribs103]

Exhibit BS
My friend and I were both changing levels at the same time and I accidentally proved the validity of shoulder strikes. Nearly KO'd him.

 

[skribs103]

Exhibit BT
Today I was rolling with a white belt (with wrestling experience). I went to pull guard, at the exact same time he went to set up an outside trip. His hips moved, my foot missed, and I pulled him into side control.

I don't think I've had that bad of a guard pull since before I got my blue belt.

 

[skribs103]

Exhibit BU
Rolling with my Professor today. He's on bottom, I'm on top. He's attempting a submission, but it's not that tight.
Then we teleport. I'm on my back. He's on his feet.
And he's lifting my legs...

 

[skribs103]

Exhibit BV
I was rolling with a brown belt. He was attacking a kneebar. As a purple belt, that's not allowed at my level. My defense was to make eye contact with my professor and point at my knee.

Neither I nor my Professor really care that this brown belt was kneebarring me. However, my Professor's favorite pastime is heckling this brown belt. So Professor stepped in and gave him an earful.

 

[Simfers104]

No-gi class today, as usual we finish with live rolls. In the last roll of the day, with a fellow blue belt, I'm in top kesa gatame, I go to remove his far side arm from my face and I somehow manage to put my own thumb in my own eye. He didn't push my hand into my face, I did that all on my own.

 

[skribs103]

Exhibit BW
Rolling with a black belt yesterday. He had me tied up with both hands behind my back; one arm in an omoplata the other in a kimura. I "pinned" him with my shoulders, looked at my Professor and asked, "Is this side control?"

 

[skribs103]

Exhibit BX
Rolling with another purple belt today. Some how I sprawled in such a way that my chest landed on his knee and I knocked the wind out of myself.