Greetings fellow Mat Rats!
It has been a little over a week since the last Mat Rat News. Unfortunately I have some sad news to share. I, The Journeyman Grappler, tore my pectoralis major muscle right off of the tendon. The good news, however, is that it’ll make for some rad content and a new section within the Mat Rat News. I’ll now include a ‘Road to Recovery’ section, which will keep you up to date on all things related to my path back to my former competitive self. My surgery is booked for Monday, so wish me luck and come through and keep me company while I binge Game of Thrones and watch Jiu Jitsu videos.
What Happened?
What makes training and teaching Jiu-Jitsu exciting is that there is always something new to be taught and learned. With the Portland Open fresh on my mind, I decided Guardian Gym Gi classes would focus on passing open Guard. Nogi classes worked on armbars from closed guard, with additional options for dealing with stubborn opponents. The kids had fun acting like “evil backpacks” as they worked on controlling and attacking from the back.
It was that Friday, not even a week after a victorious weekend in Portland, that I avulsed, tore, ruptured, severed, ripped my pectoralis right off the tendon (Doctors have a million words for the action of tearing, much like the Inuit have a million words for snow). It happened while I was in deep half guard. I was holding my arm tight to defend a kimura when, faster than Josuke’s drop seoi nage, I felt my shoulder pop. What should have been another awesome Friday training session thus took an unexpected turn. Although it didn’t hurt the sensation was, to say the least, extremely jarring; I immediately knew what it was and how severe it was going to be. My surgery was scheduled for just 10 days later. Stay tuned for updates on my Road to Recovery.
All the same, the scramble of life rages on, and I continued to teach with the help of my amazing students. The following week at Guardian, Gi classes practiced spinning kimura's and armbars from side control (a Journeyman Grappler favorite). I also peppered in a tricky choke and trap that Kurt Osiander showed when I was a young blue belt. Nogi classes switched to pressure passing and chucking an opponent’s knee shield out of the way on the path to mount. Although I won’t be on the mat until the promotion ceremony Saturday, March 16th, I recommend not missing a rep or a roll. Ben Kovacs, Mike Clark, Sacha Feinman, Alex Nichols, Calder Powers, and Dave Aakhus will all be filling in for me while I’m caring for my healing chest.
Road to Recovery!
My surgery is scheduled for Monday afternoon, March 11
My projected recovery:
Stuck in a sling - 6 weeks
Range of Motion Returns - 3 months
Green light for strength training - 4.5 months
“Flow” Rolling and Return to Sparring - 6 months
Starting to even think about signing up for a competition - 9-12 months
What’s Happening?
March 16th will be our first adult promotion ceremony, and which will include a seminar taught by my instructor and 5th degree black belt Eduardo Fraga
March 20th-24th IBJJF Pan Am Championship Irvine Gi
May 4-5th BJJ Tour American Cup San Jose Gi
May 11-12th IBJJF San Diego Spring Open Gi & Nogi
June 8th BJJ Tour Sacramento - Gi & Nogi