Ups-and-downs

Published on February 17, 2026 at 12:34 PM

There are, as always in life, ups and downs. I’ve had several ups in recent classes, and I knew the downs would come sooner or later. Yesterday was one of those down days.

I wasn’t satisfied with my performance during rolling. Not at all. But the ups will come again, so I have to stay positive and do better next time.

After ten days off the mats, I felt like I was there for the first time again.

We were practicing techniques to stop someone from escaping side control. During drilling, everything went well. But during free rolling, I didn’t do what I was supposed to do. While I was in guard and tried to take my partner down while he was on his feet, he simply flipped me over my head. I didn’t manage to sweep him, and I didn’t control him properly with my legs. Instead, I allowed him to turn me and almost break my neck.

Still, I believe I now understand what I should try next time in a similar situation.

Fight, fight, and fight.

As I said, there are ups and downs — and after the downs, the ups return. You just have to learn from failure.

The mats don’t lie. They show you where you are — and where you can go next.

 

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