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Fitness

Building Confidence as a BJJ Practitioner (Athlete Journal 63)

Between drilling, rolling, and going to judo this week, I'm feeling pretty confident.

Jess Papi

Written by Jess Papi Last updated on December 20, 2014

It’s been a great week for my jiu jitsu. With school out of the way, I’ve been able to fully dedicate my time to training.

This Week’s Lessons

I learned a lot in classes this week. Frank went over transitions between different guards. He showed us how to switch from half guard, to deep half, to X guard, to kiss of the dragon, to 50/50 guard, to single X guard. It was a long sequence of guard transitions, with some sweeps added in for flavor. I enjoyed it, and I want to start drilling transitions like that more often so my guard gets more fluid and effective.

“I never regret drilling the stuff I need to work on and sharpening the skills I’m already good at.”

Dominic took the opposite approach for his lesson plan this week. He showed us a series of pressure passes, which were interesting. Out of the three passes he showed, one confused the heck out of me. It took me a long time to understand the principles of the pass. I love those moments of being confused by jiu jitsu. It makes me want to get the move down perfectly.

I don’t remember all of the passes exactly, but I do remember some of the bits and pieces of each one. I think as long as I took those bits and pieces from the lesson, it was a good day. It’s something else to add to my own personal collection.

Rolling and Speed Drills

Rolling was a lot of fun this week. I feel like I’m already starting to get my endurance back, but just a little bit. I still have a lot of work to do. I find myself breathing heavily and getting tired more quickly than I used to. I’m determined to get back in shape, though. I want to be able to roll round after round without taking a rest round or feeling like I might die.

“I want to get to the point where I have a few solid takedowns that I know I can always hit so I can be more confident when I compete.”

I get especially tired when we do speed drills. Those are such a pain in the butt while I’m doing them, but it’s always a good feeling when I’m done. I never regret drilling the stuff I need to work on and sharpening the skills I’m already good at. Speed drills are a great tool for improving your skill and making you more confident while you’re rolling.

Back to Judo

Remember a few weeks ago when I said I wanted to start doing judo again? Well, it took me a little while, but I finally got my butt to class this week. I can’t make it to all of the classes because I teach during them, but I think one or two a week is good. I want to take more judo classes so I get comfortable on my feet. I spent most of my blue belt career pulling guard in tournaments, but it never worked out in my favor. I want to get to the point where I have a few solid takedowns I know I can always hit so I can be more confident when I compete.

My Next Competition

Speaking of competing, I already have something lined up for February! On February 21st I have a super fight against Samantha Fisher from Pereira BJJ. I don’t know much about my opponent or all the details yet, but I‘m excited for this. I’ve been wanting to do a super fight for a while now.

RELATED: Judo Training for Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Effort

For those of you who don’t know, a super fight is like a highlighted match between you and an opponent. It’s not like a tournament with a bracket. It’s just you and that one person competing against each other, and whoever wins the match gets bragging rights or some kind of prize. I’ll be training my butt off for this match. God gave me talent, and it’s my job to sharpen it and give the glory to Him.

I’d like to leave you guys on that thought, so I’ll see you next week!

Jess Papi is a blue belt at Scranton MMA and also pursuing her degree in exercise science. Read her entries every week for insights on competing, training, and juggling BJJ and life.

Jess Papi

About Jess Papi

Jess Papi got her start in the martial arts world by joining a women’s only muay Thai class when she was fifteen years old. After about a year of striking classes, she started taking sporadic jiu jitsu classes, but mostly focused on her muay Thai training. A handsome young man by the name of Frank always attended the classes even though he did not like striking very much. They ended up training together a lot and he suggested to her that she train jiu jitsu more often. Jess took his advice and started going to three jiu jitsu classes per week. Jess Papi officially started her jiu jitsu career in 2011. Not long after, she started her relationship with Frank Alogna, one of the jiu jitsu instructors at Scranton MMA.

Jess is a blue belt from Scranton MMA, a Royce Gracie affiliate in Pennsylvania. As a white belt she competed in a few tournaments, but her real love for competing did not come about until a year after getting her blue belt. She has earned medals at small scale local tournaments and international IBJJF competitions. She is proudly sponsored by Girl-Jitsu.

Jess is currently enrolled at the University of Scranton and is studying exercise science. She aspires to become a physical therapist and use her skills to help understand and treat injuries that occur frequently on the grappling mats.

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