Did I lock the car..??

Its been just over 3 weeks since my Hernia op and I'm close to being back training at 100%. My rehab has been going excellent. The surgeon and nurses all said to do no rehab at all for the first 2-3weeks. Which to me seemed a bit strange. So with the help of one of my team mates who is an excellent physio I have been working on strengthening up my core without the risk of re-injury. The hard part is, now that I'm back rolling, not going too hard when I'm training with the bigger guys.
I have 4 of my team mates from Terra Luta BJJ competing at the state titles this Saturday. I have been trying my best to help them prepare. 

Coaching jiu-jitsu is almost impossible for me with out being able to be on the mat. I'm still developing my coaching style and trying to learn and refine my own jiujitsu at the same time. The poor blokes I'm coaching are somewhat my guinea pigs. My approach at the moment is to try to be technical and always train hard, and train even harder when we are preparing for competitions. Luckily I've had the help and guidance of my coaches Ryan, Dean and Carlos and my team mates from IgniteSC & Cia Paulista. I am extremely grateful for their help and am very privileged to be part of such a strong team.

Carlos Portugues Viera Seminar 28-04-12,
At IgniteSC

With only one or two hard training runs left before the comp, I believe the team will be ready to do their best. As i've blogged about before, I think competing is a short cut to getting better at BJJ and is a great way to develop as a person. When you're training hard for comps in the gym and on the competition mat, your weaknesses and strengths become obvious. Your mental is put to the test. You will find yourself in really shit positions where no one can help you but yourself. 

With a head like this,
I'm always up against better looking opponents.

You might find that you have no strength left, no cardio left, no one yelling out instructions for you. Your opponent might even be much more experienced, bigger, faster, have a cooler hair cut and be better looking than you. You are alone, its just you and your annoyingly well groomed opponent. That's when the voice in your head becomes very clear. We all have an inner monologue going in our head, it doesn't mean you're crazy. (Unless you start actually doing all the crazy shit your inner voice says) 
When you are in these shit positions and you think you have tried everything you can to escape, that inner voice is all you have left. You will here it say stuff like, shit I'm being smashed, fuck this guy is heavy, I hope no one is watching, how am I suppose to get out of this? did I train hard enough? Did I lock the car? I wonder if anyone is laughing at me? I wonder if Rihanna will get back with Chris Brown?All these things could go through your head. This is why people say that being an athlete is more mental than physical. 
The top guys all have that inner turmoil but they learn to deal with it and replace the negative stuff with positive and react to what is happening in the moment. They develop the ability to stay focused even when they are in the deepest amount of shit on the biggest stages of their sport. 

After a hard session at TerraLuta,
With Coach Ryan & Dean.

Me personally, I have this problem every time I compete. But I'm aware of it now and the last time I competed even tho I was against a much bigger and more experienced opponent, I still stayed in the fight till the very end and only lost by a couple of points. I think the reason for that was I remained focused on the task at hand the whole time. I've gotten smarter with my training I have options from most positions now. It may mean I have to be patient and wait for the right timing and leverage to create some space to execute the technique but I'm much more confident in my skill set. Even in my losses I learn so much about my Jiu-Jitsu and myself.  


I'm very proud of the Terra Luta Competition Team. It takes heart to step on to the competition mat and compete. Just by entering and turning up on the day you become a different person. You are now a Jiu-Jitsu fighter. With that comes the full support of your team and the honour to represent the team patch on your back.

Cia Paulista QLD!