A productive week

I was productive this week: three BJJ classes and, between them, two days of pull-ups and core training.

I'm 58 and one year in, still a white belt. So far I have about 350 rounds of rolling. For someone who's never done anything similar, 350 rounds of full-contact grappling might not be bad. I have done Kyokushin and Shotokan karate, Taekwon-Do, Wing Chun, and boxing, but nothing that included grappling.

Yesterday, after the warm-up, we practiced double-leg takedowns again, sweeps from guard, and submissions from mount. At the end, I had seven 3-minute rounds of free rolling with seven different partners. I was mainly surviving. The best part was getting past the guard of a good, much younger blue belt and taking control in side position. There was no time for more, because the round ended. The worst part was that I still struggle with panic attacks when I'm underneath a heavier guy who covers my face. It's better than before, but the uncomfortable feeling is still there, and I often tap in that position before it's actually necessary. At the end of the day, I was only partly satisfied with that class.

In the photo below, I'm in a blue gi, trying to survive a mount.