I had to take it easy this week because of a few injuries, but I’m hoping to be back 100% by next week.
Time to Heal
I acquired some injuries while competing at the Goodfight two weeks ago. I ended up spraining an elbow and a toe. It was my big toe, which is always a pain to train with. It was nothing too serious, though. It just required me to turn down my training a little bit.
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When I got back to training after the tournament, I had to go super slow and easy so I could let my injuries heal. I didn’t want to aggravate the joints even more and make the situation worse. As the week went on I was able to do more and more every day. It’s definitely feeling a lot better since the day of the tournament. With the combination of resting and icing the joints every day, I’ll be back to the grind by Monday.
A New Sweep
In class this week, Dominic went over a sweep that could be done from multiple places. It’s a simple sweep where you kick the knee out on one side and elevate their other leg to dump them over. I honestly can’t remember the name of the sweep (or even if it has a name), but I’m sure all you jiu jitsu heads know what I’m talking about. Dom showed us how to hit the sweep from butterfly guard, from the knees, and from standing. After a few repetitions, I got it down pretty solid. It’s one of those sweeps that I could use all the time, but always forget that it’s there. I have to remember to keep that one tucked away for future rolling!
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Frank wasn’t able to make it to advanced class to teach on Monday, so he let me take his spot! I don’t normally get to teach these classes. It was a nice change of pace to show something a little more advanced. After some deliberation, I decided to show a series of moves leading up to the rolling back take. I can’t help but love that move. It’s fun to do, it works like a dream, and it looks flippin’ sweet. It was a good class, and everyone picked up on the techniques nicely. Maybe Frank will let me teach more advanced classes once in a while (cough cough wink wink).
Back to Judo
After a long hiatus, I have decided to get back into judo. I used to do judo all the time when I first started training, but I got cocky and thought I didn’t need to take classes anymore. I’ve noticed that my takedown game has been slipping quite a bit, so I want to make an effort to improve my technique.
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In case you hadn’t heard, Scranton MMA has the best judo in the area. Hands down. I’ve been a fool not to take judo classes at my school. So, this is a public record stating that I need to work on my takedowns and go to judo class. If I start slacking off, Sensei Tom can use this as incriminating evidence to get me back on the judo mat!
Well, that’s all for this week, folks! 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.