Change is good

The decision to change academies was definitely the right one for me. Now that I am back to training, I actually enjoy it again. It has been a very long time since I have felt that passion for training that we all know. Like I said before, I loved my old academy but it just didn't fit me. I think my style, my personality fits much better where I am now.

I think that I have progressed in my game more in the past few weeks of training there than I had in the last two years (albeit I have had a lot of time off the mats) at my old academy. I am finally getting the attention, encouragement and correction I need to progress. I am starting to get confident with the things I do well and that is allowing me to feel comfortable enough to reach out and expand my game, trying things I would normally never try. I played spider guard with a behemoth of a guy the other day and actually did very well, stifled his pass attempts and managed to sweep. Trust me, that never happened with my game, until then.

Being back on the mats has taken a bit of a toll on the body. Seems that my skeleton isn't used to the extremes we put ourselves thru in training. I aggravated a long time hip injury and just a few days after I hurt my shoulder when I let an Americana go too long before escaping. The funny part was my shoulder felt fine. Until the next morning. I was in agony, had to wear a splint for two days.

Don't worry. I think that I am beginning to acclimate pretty well. I have already seen huge gains in my cardio and strength. Plus, as an added bonus, I have dropped about half the weight I brought back with me from Louisiana. My gi pants are getting baggy and I'm finding myself fitting into things I have not been able to squeeze into for over a year. Too bad styles change. Oh well.

I'm very excited to be back in it again. And to top it off, the Mundials are just around the corner. I didn't get to go last year because I was out of state, but this time I will be there on Saturday and Sunday to soak up all the action and root for some friends competing..

Now that I'm back, its time to update my goals for the rest of the year, update some of my other information, and get myself back in the rhythm of writing about all this madness we love.