Weighing-in consistently at about 76.5 kilos with my runners on. Pushing towards 45lbs plates on each side for Germans (10 sets of 10), but I’m not quite there yet. A couple weeks ago I felt confident about being able to achieve 20 chin-ups in a row (16 is easy) but my energy levels are suffering due to a cold. I’ve been neglecting cardio—occasional stair-running and judo is all I’ve managed to get in. I special ordered a new pair of runners for my funny feet so maybe those’ll kick me back into high gear. Left ankle is at about 85% and not a concern: e.g., saiza is easy when I’m warmed up.
Starting to get 3D veins in my right biceps (left biceps is already quite prominent), calves, thighs but I’m sure the holidays will help with that. Bruises on my hips and shins from falling and having my legs hacked at in judo never seem to heal. I look like the victim of an unending butt-kickin’. I privately enjoy being one of the people at the gym that actually looks like he applies his fitness.
Groundwork: been developing my butterfly guard since I purchased Marcelo Garcia’s book on the X-Guard. Typically doesn’t work well against larger opponents who instead flatten me, but comparable/lighter opponents are becoming easier to control, sweep, puppet around. I’ve been making poor attendance to jiu jitsu and reasonable attendance to judo, mostly due to the cold weather. Might cancel jiu jitsu til the Spring.
Standing: while I had aspirations of developing my forward throws earlier on, I think I’ve more generally geared myself towards developing “kuzushi” (i.e., off-balancing uke). Pulling up, pulling in. Made a bit of progress last week, as I felt like I was controlling a (quite exhausted) black belt’s weight. Of course I didn’t throw him, and he ragdolled me when he felt like it. These movements involve muscles that aren’t necessarily as developed as I’d like, so even if I don’t manage to perform a throw, I think the repetition is good for me.
Agalloch is blowing my mind.
