"All it took was some sleep and food..."
Morning Thoughts
Last night I just needed to get some sleep. Today, my mind is much happier and less clouded than yesterday. More people showed up to the camp in the middle of the night. Two guys from Florida and a quiet girl.
Today, I got to meet our breakfast chef named Jack. He is quite the character. This morning he prepared for us a great combination of omletes, potatoes, and bacon. Pretty good stuff. While we ate breakfast I found out that the two guys from Florida, Dave and John, are also brand spanking new to BJJ which helped relax my nerves a bit.
As I sit here writing, I feel happy about coming here. Challenging myself by going to uncomfortable places, meeting new faces. I'm horrible at grappling and I haven't mentioned my other martial art experience because I feel there is no need to. Early in the morning I did find time to practice Ba Duan Jin. Both Shi Yan Lei's and Master Peng's versions.
The relaxing atmosphere mixed in with the coastal air is really nice. For me, this Fall is a fall of grappling and change. October seminar, November BJJ trip, and possibly a Sanda tournament in December. All to get better at what I suck at.
Lessons Learned
Two men named Mason Fowler and Stuart Cooper are teaching us throughout the camp. Turns out that both of them are quite famous in the BJJ world as Mason just came back from competing in the ADCC tournament in Vegas. He told us that this week we will focus only on attacking and defending the back.
We learned some tips for dealing with the turtle position and what grips to use when on someone's back as well as how to flip someone out of turtle position. We practiced all of this in and out of the Gi.
Man, am I really out of my element here. Not just with the training but also with the kind of people here. Most here smoke weed, eat edibles, or take mushrooms. A couple had some earlier addictions to harder drugs. I don't mind that they do those things, it's just that their stories are all so crazy or exciting that I don't have much to add to the conversations. So I stay silent, just listening.
Besides that, training is going well. Sometimes I think about home.