Workout Recap - Week of April 30, 2023
It had caught my attention at the second gym that a number of people there were recovering from ACL injuries, and it seemed like other injuries were also a common theme (such as when I had back-to-back classes there where my partner hurt their wrist when we were working on side control escapes). I had said half-jokingly to a friend that I just want to get out of there healthy, and apparently I should've been more serious about that, because I did suffer a thumb injury in my class on Friday. It seems to be relatively mild, so I'm going to try maintaining a normal training schedule and just dial down my intensity if it feels like I'm putting it as risk, but I suppose actually putting it to the test will reveal how reasonable that will be.
Monday
BJJ class
We did more work on wall takedowns and defenses this class. I'm getting better at it, though I still have trouble clearing the legs consistently when I go for a double-leg pull-out and sometimes struggle to keep my balance well enough to transition into an advantageous position instead of just getting into a scramble. While switching around partners during drilling at full resistance, I matched up with someone allegedly training to be a competitive fighter who seemed exasperated by the pace I set. It was a bizarre response; I can understand asking a moment to catch your breath if you really need it, but an opponent isn't going to pause because you want a time-out, so complaining that I'm not giving enough of a break between reps it putting the responsibility on the wrong person, in my mind. I'll be glad to not work with them again after this week.
Tuesday
Muay Thai class
We worked on flowing between offense, defense, and counter-attacking in this class; a very useful set of skills for actual fighting. I got a couple of compliments from the kru along with advice to get more hip involvement on my left teep. I think my default stance tends to be a little more bladed than usual for kickboxing, since I want to be ready to fend off grappling attempts as well, so I'll need to think about how to get better hip drive despite that so that my kicks still command some respect. Overall, though, I feel good about how I did, and while I'm a bit of a broken record about it at this point, I'm once again feeling energized to be at this gym fully after this week.
Wednesday
BJJ class
This class was all about working into armlocks, which isn't what I'd consider as a top option for a self-defense scenario, but I suppose they're still a decent secondary if a choke isn't available. That said, I had a lot of trouble getting angled out properly to do a far-side armlock starting from closed guard, so my issues with lacking a clear plan of attack from that position continue. We also worked on a rolling armlock, which I wasn't entirely into since I prefer to focus on basics; while I did kind of start getting the hang of it towards the end, I also figure that any technique which requires posting on your own head is of marginal value in self-defense. I did fairly solidly in the sparring rounds to finish, though, only getting submitted twice by better-skilled people (including the coach, who obviously took it easy on me to keep it competitive, but I can only measure myself against what people try to do to me) and getting two submissions by rear naked choke in one round against someone with less skill. All in all, I'm satisfied with the progress I made in my time training BJJ, and while I'm fine with leaving it behind for now, I did enjoy it enough that I'd like to come back to it at some point.
Thursday
Muay Thai class
This class was pretty much all about low kicks. My stance seemed to hamper my left kicks again, as I needed a few reminders to pivot harder and snap my hips through the moment of impact for those, but I did get some compliments on my right kicks (there were at least two instances where my padwork partner said that I should feel good about how hard I kick, and the kru also said that my right kicks were beautiful when we were banging them out rapid-fire to finish the class). Low kicks are my favorite round kicks since anyone who isn't used to facing them will tend to both offer their lead leg to eat them constantly and be ill-conditioned to take them, so I would be glad to have them as one of my best techniques.
Friday
MMA class
Once again, we worked on mixing together punches to raise someone's guard and takedowns. Unfortunately, at one point near the end, something went wrong with how I posted out my right hand and I ended up hurting my thumb. I was able to finish out the arm lock defense we did to close the class, which seems a positive sign that whatever injury I might've sustained was mild, but I'll try to give it some rest and hope it heals over the weekend. A fitting note to close out my time at this gym, really. I'm sure there are people for whom it'd be a great place, but it just didn't click well with me, so I'm fine with being content to take what could from it, cutting my losses, and moving on.
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