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Man I feel like it has been forever since I wrote something down! Been so busy getting my office pulled together and training like mad!

I decided that I’m not gonna continue the weight cut to feather for Atlanta next Saturday. I think it’s definitely possible to do, but:

I’ve competed at lightweight up until now, and killed it.

I haven’t had the stamina to train as hard as I’d like to on such a low carb diet.
The protein I have to buy (because of my gluten/soy/dairy allergies) is insanely expensive.

I want to focus more on training, and less worrying about making weight.

I made that decision last Wednesday – boy did I time that just right! Ate a good dinner that night, and breakfast Thursday morning. Went in to train at 10 and coach had clicked into evil mode for the day’s training. 8 min rounds with 1 min rest in between – with coach pairing us up pretty equally in skill/size. 3 people threw up, and I almost made 4. It was awesome! I staggered through the 11:30 class as well, my legs were majorly shaking.

At 5, we had a repeat of 10. I got paired off with our small, gum chewing black belt. He worked me over really well. Then I got hip tossed quite solidly by our purple neutron star (who is also a judo black belt). I alternated between those two for the class duration.

I drilled in the no-gi class at 6, but only sparred 1 round. Then I participated in the 7:15 class.

I might have overdone it a bit…

Anyhow, it’s been a whirlwind of training up through Tuesday. I was in a pretty fragile mental state (sleep deprivation and family stress), so that made me more physically fragile. In short, I got very well thrashed yesterday – to the point that coach banned me from rolling for today.

It sucked, but my body was grateful. He promised to beat a bit on me tomorrow. Yay! I did 3 massages at the gym today as well, just because I was there. If that’s any indicator of how it’s gonna go, I’m quite pleased!

This warrior is going to bed!

I am wishing now that I hadn’t done that tournament on Saturday.

Why? Because I just can’t handle the attention I’m getting from everyone over it! I wish we could just forget about it, move on, and train like usual minus the “she’s too good for us” and “she thinks she’s all that now” comments.

It feels really good to accomplish something I set out to do, but having attention called to it during line ups makes me wanna run and hide.

First off, props to the UGF! That was the best run tournament I’ve yet participated in! Everything was on time and very well organized!

I was slightly nervous about making weight since my female hormones were rearing their ugly heads this week – I bloat really badly and will usually gain 4-5 pounds in just a few days. I managed to weigh in with 2 lbs to spare however – yay!

Coach’s directions were “don’t fuck around!”. My Marine brother went with me to cheer me on for morale support.

I’ve never had my gi inspected before at a tournament, so that was a new experience – and I passed just fine.

We had no shows in my gi weight class, so it ended up just being myself and one other girl – so we decided to do 2 out of 3, just so we could roll more.

First round: I got a lapel and sleeve then pulled guard pretty quickly. I closed and locked my guard pretty quickly and dove for the cross choke. I got the first hand in deep right away, but was having problems getting the other one in solidly so I just held on. She rolled a couple times (giving me mount points in process) – then in mount I put my head to the mat and windshield wiped my arm across her neck. She went completely out and the ref pulled me off.

That was my first choke out! Yay! She woke up suddenly, fairly disoriented, asking “what just happened!?” – she said she was having a very nice dream.

Second round: we rested for 5 mins then went at it again. She tried to dive for a single leg takedown and I locked in an arm in guillotine while standing then pulled her down into my guard. She rolled a few times trying to get out, and I wasn’t sure I had it since I’ve never gotten that choke before. I swung one leg up in preparation to go for a triangle in case she got out, but then she tapped. Whole process was done in under a minute.

So that got me gold in my gi division and I sat down to rest until the absolute division started.

There were 7 people in the white belt absolute division. I have to wait for my brother to email me the videos to remember what exactly happened but I’ll break down what I remember.

First round:
I got her turtled and managed to get a hold of a cross lapel grip before putting in my hooks and taking her back. I went for a gi choke from back but she was defending my second lapel grip very well and was able to get her shoulders to the mat. I kept the grip I had and turned it into a no gi ezekiel type choke and got the tap.

Second round:
By far my favorite roll of the night! She was very quick and put me in guard right away, and started working to break my posture. She went after the armbar when I foiled a triangle attempt, I managed to spin out of the armbar and go to guard. She passed my guard and got side control, I reverse elbow escaped out. We had a scramble in which I managed to lock in an inverted triangle and a kimura grip. It was then just a matter of getting the angle right for the shoulder lock and tap.

Third round: (finals)
I don’t remember how it happened, but I ended up caught in a really tight side control. She was going after an armbar setup and went to mount when she wasn’t able to get it. I spent the rest of the time avoiding arm attacks and lost via points. Props to this chick too! She was a good opponent!

2nd place in Gi Absolute! It’s my first time ever doing absolute and I am quite pleased.

My opponents didn’t show up for my no gi division, so I was awarded 1st place for showing up and did an exhibition match for the fun of it. She won by points – I really need to work on no gi grips.

In absolute it was a very small group. I went up against the same person who beat me in gi finals. She locked in a kimura from mount and I tapped before she cranked it, I watched the video and can say I did the right thing – I wasn’t getting out of that one!

Ended up with 2nd place in No Gi Absolute.

All together I was very pleased with my accomplishments. As far as team points go, I was able to get 3rd place in Gi, and 2nd place in No Gi.

My coach called me during a break from a seminar he was teaching – when I told him that I won 2nd place overall team, I could hear how proud he was to yell that to all the people at his seminar.

I was very impressed with the quality of Jiu Jitsu that each of my opponents had! Nice to know there are other girls out there who train hard as well! I made new friends and learned more about my strengths and weaknesses. Can’t wait to train more! Off of the plane, and back to the pain!

Well I just got back from training with my friend at Eddie Bravo’s school in Burbank. It was great fun! I definitely need to work on some more no gi techniques when I get home!

I was a bit lost with some of the opening drills – but I really liked this one back take which I’m gonna attempt to describe it. I’m starting standing while my opponent is on their butt.

I grab their left wrist with my right hand and pin it to their left hip.

Front roll over them, on my left shoulder, while left hand locks in a kimura on their left hand.

I land on my left side with the kimura locked, legs straight – keeping their arm down by their hip.

They’ll try to roll toward you, and that’s when you swing your legs down for a back take.

It’s called a rolling kimura back take. Not sure how clear that was, but it’s enough to refresh my memory.

Did a lot of butterfly guard sweep drills. I was scolded for: A. Not sitting up in guard (“this isn’t gi where you can be lazy like that!”), B. Not snapping to the clinch position immediately.

Honestly, coach’s scoldings are a lot scarier than Eddie’s.

Anyhow, never worked with butterfly guard before. Learned some good stuff! Rule #1, must be sitting upright when clinched!

Can’t wait to give this stuff a go ’round!

Anyhow, I rolled a bit with my old team mate but she had to sit out afterward so I found a large guy who was up for a couple rounds. Not sure about ranks since it’s all no gi, but my friend thinks he was a purple belt. He was really good to roll with – no ego so he wasn’t trying to crush me.

He declared me to be “strong, athletic, and flexible”. Yay! Don’t know how to describe the roll, other than really fun.

Got a picture with Eddie afterward – he asked me if I was hooked and going for my black belt. Told him it’s like crack to me and that I train more than I actually work. Got a fist bump for that answer.

Thus concludes the training part of my vacation. They just posted the registrant list for the tournament on Saturday. There are about 30 ladies all together competing. Most of the lightweights are blue belts or in the senior division – so I’m only gonna have a few matches. Brackets go up tomorrow so I’ll know for sure then.

I am currently on a plane, flying over some part of the midwest. I see a lot of mesas out my window so maybe Arizona?

So since I’ve already slept half of the flight, and am bored of sudoku, may as well write a bit!

I’m so pumped to be on my way to LA! I’ll see my team mate tonight, then train with Eddie Bravo tomorrow. After that, it’s family time, disneyland, then tournament time on Saturday! Eeeee! Only thing that could make this trip more awesome would be if I could eat pizza.

I only brought carry-on luggage, so (as expected) my bag was searched by security. Apparently, large tubs of protein powder and bags of vitamin supplements look rather suspicious on x-ray.

Anyhow, I didn’t get a chance to hit up the gym yesterday. I was so busy getting everything ready to go! Didn’t do so well with my eating plan either – don’t think I had any solid food until after 11 pm. Did still get my protein shakes in every 3 hours, but man – I’d hate to be on a liquid only diet!

Did get to train on Friday, in the morning and the evening. In the morning we didn’t really have an official class, just rolled a bit. One of the guys is moving and it was his last class, so he got jumped and whipped.

The guys were still in a beating mood, so three of them jumped me when I stepped on the mat. They couldn’t pin me, gave up, and just started laughing. Nice to know I could handle myself in a group attack scenario!

I rolled a few rounds with an overly concerned blue belt. He’d get me pinned then get up, afraid of squishing me. I had to keep assuring him that I was fine and would let him know if he was using too much pressure.

That evening we had a small class taught by purple spider. We drilled a few sweeps from spider guard then rolled a few rounds. I got paired up with the same blue belt from earlier. Hoping I can use some of that in my tournament on Saturday!

That is all! My next update will be after training with Eddie, so should be interesting!

As you might be able to tell from the pictures, we decided to see if we could triangle ourselves. I’m just an inch shy of being able to lock it! (I’m in the purple/orange shorts) the other girl is our lone female blue belt who is making a training comeback – Yay!

Today was a really awesome training day! The guys did no gi rolling at 10 which I sat out from – didn’t seem too wise to participate, freshly broken toe and all. Our volcano black belt taught class at 11:30 and it was a really different format.

First drill: We got in 2 groups of 4. One person would run and do a takedown on each other person in the group, next person would do the same. 4 rounds of that. I just stuck with the snap/single takedown we drilled a couple weeks ago. Works well for me!

Next drill: partner up and take turns with each person securing 5 submissions from standing, and then from side control. Did that for about 5 mins.

Technique drill: armbar from side control when they frame their arms against your hips. There is a sweet kimura from here as well, but my partner and I were both too bendy for it to work effectively.

Technique drill: triangle from side control. Sit out, pull near elbow up and shoot your bottom thigh under it. Trap that arm in place by throwing your other leg over it as well. Let (or encourage) them to lift their upper body to defend their arm, then step your upper leg over their head – locking the triangle. You can also armbar the out arm if you don’t feel like choking them.

That was it for class – the guys rolled a bit after, but I decided to head out and run errands.

I am leaving for Los Angeles, CA on Sunday. I’ll be visiting a team mate, training with Eddie Bravo, visiting family, and going to Disneyland. I figured the only thing able to make it better (other than eating pizza), would be to compete. Looked it up, and would you believe, there is a tournament I can go to! The UGF is having their International Ladies Championship on the 25th! I fly out at 11 pm that day – so I can totally do that! Gonna enter in gi, no gi, and the open divisions in each. Downside is that I won’t have any team mates there, but I’ll have family for moral support and I think I’ll still be able to kill.

Class at 5 today was pretty much just open mat. I was feeling a bit lazy, but our little feisty black belt decided to wrap me up in an x guard while I was talking with someone, and how could I refuse that? We’re rolled around for a good bit – mostly with me trying to pass his guard, then recovering position when he’d sweep me. I felt pretty good about it!

Went with purple spider next. He warned me to never attempt a triangle from spider on someone bigger than me – if they have any amount of skill they’ll just shrug me off and use it to pass. He told me to go for the omoplata instead.

Our lone girl blue belt came back from a 2 month training vacation – yay! I tested out that triangle from side control that we learned this morning, and it works! I couldn’t get the choke, but fiddled with the arm until I got a kimura. I showed her some of the tricks the guys have been using to pass my spider guard lately – I figure the more people learn my tricks, the more I’ll have to adapt to make them awesome.

I rolled a bit after that with one of the white belts – the same wrestler I played with last Saturday. Was going well until I got my broken toe smashed and I kinda had to stop there since he smashed and ripped off the tape. Apparently purple spider was watching because he called me over and lectured me about rolling with large white belts.

I re-hydrated during the no gi class, then decided to weigh in. Even after a liter of water, I weighed at 132.5! Down from 141 2 weeks ago! 8.5 lbs with just 7.5 to go! Wheeee! I just might make my goal of 130 before I leave on Sunday for LA!

This week so far has been crazy busy! Finally got the bare bones moved into the gym. We spent all day yesterday hauling everything, painting, and getting the mats down on the floor. We got enough set up to have class this morning, and are working to get the bags up for the kickboxing class tonight.

I’m getting settled into my new office as well. It’s large enough for my massage table, massage chair, comfy sitting chair, and some shelving. They’re installing a dimmer lightswitch today, I think. One guy is bringing in some shelves for me, and another guy is giving me an ion air filter. I’ve had 2 guys offer me massage tables, as well! So overwhelmed!

Anyhow, I got the first opening day roll on the mats today… And I broke my little toe in a mat crack. Fun times! Got it taped up really well for now but it’s turning some really pretty colors.

We have a new girl in class who just transferred from another school. She’s also in the Muy Thai program so I think she’ll stick around! She has been training for 4 months so far, I showed her some of my anti-smash techniques and open guard tricks.

I got a new Gameness Feather to use as a competition only gi. It’s very bright! Need to get a team patch put on it.

Anyhow, gotta get back to settling in! Looks like I have my first new client tomorrow!

I think the dietary changes all hit me at once today. I managed to sleep for 12 hours last night then went in to roll at 10.

I still didn’t have much energy so was just playing around with one of the guys until coach hollered at me to quit messing around, stand up, and pass his guard. What followed was a pretty ferocious scramble that ended with me playing some de la riva guard. We went at it for about 20 mins before I finally gassed and waved him on to play with someone else.

Talked to coach to see what I should eat before class to give me some energy. He told me to try a teaspoon of honey and a handful of raw almonds 30 mins before class. I’m allowed a total of 22 almonds during the course of the day. Went right out and bought some to test out in the evening classes.

It worked! We just had an open mat sparring session at 5 since coach was busy getting the new gym ready. I drilled a bit with pink gi girl. She was helping me work how to get a triangle from closed guard – not my best move for sure! Also drilled hip escape from mount. I’ve noticed that instead of using my hips, I just turn on my side instead – not entirely useful. Need to drill that more!

I decided to pick a fight with mr lightening blue belt. He is probably one of the most athletic of our blue belts, never seems to slow down or get tired. I love rolling with him because he uses pure technique on people smaller than him.

Good roll! Did well with my guard passing and even tapped him a couple of times. We went for about 20 mins before he went off to roll with another blue belt. No one else seemed too motivated to roll after that so I went to cool off and make sweat angels on the mats.

I “ate” during the no gi class. By eat, I mean almonds and a protein shake. There ended up not really being a 7:15 class since coach was still busy setting up the new gym – so I went home. Need rest anyhow.

Starting to get sick of protein shakes. Need to start testing out some new varieties me thinks – it’s getting very boring. Working though!

Weight: 134.5

Weight cut status: down 5 lbs already and feeling good! Bouncy and still have energy! 10 lbs to go and I think I’m on a pretty good track.

I’m really enjoying this eating schedule. I think I may stick with it even after the tournament – with a little more leniency on the weekends. I think I’m due a cheat meal – but I really don’t want it. At any rate, I’m not hungry – just get occasional cravings.

Been staying on the up slide with my training still. Had a small bump this morning when I allowed myself to be goaded into rolling with someone I shouldn’t – nearly got my jaw broken because I couldn’t tap and he didn’t recognize my foot slapping on his thigh as a tap.

I sat out a round then coach motioned me over to check on me (apparently I looked pissed). I told him I was fine, just got caught and couldn’t tap. He let me roll a round with him and that got me feeling better. He showed me how to do a “crotch rocket” mount (which I used later!)

Next up I rolled with one of the large purple belts. I haven’t rolled with him in quite some time, not since before I broke my rib I think. Anyhow, I quickly remembered how much he loves butterfly guard sweeps. He gave me a new trick (which I also used later!). He told me I’m getting good.

My final match was with a smaller purple belt who was pretty tired. So I (of course) took advantage and used the sweep the purple butterfly had just shown me. Then I went to that crotch rocket mount coach showed me. His favorite mount escape is to bring his feet into my armpits and push me off over his head: and I found with my heels in his hips I could nullify that. Anyhow, he was too worn out and had to take a break after that. He promised to whip me soundly tomorrow.

I was pretty tired myself afterward so I skipped the 11:30 class and went home to eat. I had to get up at 5:30 this morning to open the gym and I just didn’t get enough sleep to keep at it like usual.

It was a slow day at work, so I went back to roll at 5. Coach wasn’t there so it was fairly informal. I rolled with the big blue mountain for about 20 mins. He’s a huge blue belt whose leg is probably about the same weight as me – but he’s very good to roll with. I practice my top game and attacks – and he practices his reguarding skills. It’s a good tradeoff – and has been REALLY helping my movements on top. He said he is noticing improvements himself. Yay for teamwork!!!

I was really beat after that, but I had a friend come in to visit, and I figured I should do something other than sit on the side panting. So I snagged the purple neutron star for a roll. I tried to stay standing and pass – got swept a couple times. I did manage to pass once (briefly), which made me happy; that’s the first time I’ve ever done that. He landed a beautiful toss on me – which I wish had been on video!

After that, I needed food again. So I left to go eat with my friend.

That’s it for today. Highlights of the week:
1. Been getting closer to nailing that snap single takedown.
2. Got a massage yesterday. Still detoxing a bit from that.
3. FINALLY learned how to do a wrestling shot double leg takedown.
4. Lots of new guys coming in – getting to beat up a few of them (nicely of course).
5. The new gym is almost finished! Should be moving soon!

That is all. Need to remember to update every day while I still remember details!

Big week! First off, I sat down with coach and we talked out a contract for partnering up in the new gym. I’ll have an office space to work out of, and they get a percentage. Pretty sweet deal for all parties!

I also asked coach about how to do a weight cut properly (vs. Killing myself like some of the guys do). He wrote me down his eating plan involving eating every 3 hrs:

6am – Protein shake with 1/2 c blueberries, 1/2 cup oats

9am – Protein shake, apple

12pm – 6-8 oz fish/chicken, 1 c greens (spinach/green beans/broccoli)

3pm – Protein shake, 1 c greens

6pm – 6-8 oz fish/chicken/steak, 6 oz sweet potato, 1 c greens

9pm – Protein shake or 2 c greens

I’m enjoying this plan so far! I have energy and am feeling pretty good! I have a couple different flavors of protein so I’m able to mix it up a bit. Need to get some hemp powder too during my next trip to the store.

Coach said it’ll probably be a couple weeks before I start dropping weight on this diet, but it’s what he uses to cut for his tournaments – so it works.

I had a great time tuesday morning! At the 10am class we had 3 black belts, 2 brown, 2 purple, and myself. Fun times! We drilled a spider guard sweep then rolled for a bit. I rolled with all the black belts and one of the purple belts. Of course I got trounced, but I learned lots! Especially from the black belts.

One of the black belts instructed me to avoid full mount on someone much larger than me. I’ll be able to maintain side control, or fat boy position much more easily.

Rolled around a bit with my newly returned purple belted spider guard friend before the 5pm sparring class. We didn’t really have an organized class since coach was busy with running a new initiate through his paces. I rolled several rounds with the purple spider then was assigned the timekeeper position where I remained until one of the guys passed out – then I got to jump back in.

We have been really working on the snap single takedown this week – drilling it every class. This is good! It’s actually starting to feel smooth to me. I think I’ll start trying to use it before a guard pull.

Learned the coolest armbar ever at the 7:15 class! I really would love to pull that one off in a tournament. Your opponent is turtled and you bait them by planting your foot next to their head. If they grab it, you hook, extend, and rotate.

Wed:
I started my nutrition plan today. Went ok but timing got a bit off in the evening thanks to work. I managed to keep my feeding times within an hour though so all is well.

I was REALLY hungry after training so I ate a can of tuna with some spinach. Glad meals fall after training!

Thurs:
Very good day! The guys were getting ready for a no gi sub only tournament so I stayed out of the rolling at 10 – that way they could have at it. Got some awesome video though!

At 11:30, I was the odd duck out in a class full of large white/blue belts. I did get to drill a bit, but wasn’t gonna roll. However, coach nabbed me for a few rounds, yay!

Instead of waiting for him to get a grip on my lapel and sweep me (like usual), I immediately jumped through his guard into side control. He declared me to be a “cheater.” Fun times!

I went to the health food store after class and got a bunch of protein powder samples. So far I’ve tried 3 today. Two were okay, one was pretty gross. The problem with a lot of the non gluten/soy/dairy options is that they are: A. Expensive B. Not very high in protein. I think I found a few that might work though.

At 5 we had a pretty intense sparring class. My BBB was there and we rolled a bit before class started as well. Anyhow, once class actually started, I stayed paired with him for the first rolling session. We had a really good match! I did make a pathetic attempt at a snap single takedown before getting dumped on my head. Good times!

(Insert Champion Pushups)

Next I went with pink gi girl – who incidentally wasn’t wearing her pink gi today. She’s got a bit of weight on me, but I kept the upper hand through most of our round – even managed to get that rear collar choke we’ve been working on in class this week!

(Champion Pushups)
(More pushups for “being lazy and slow”)

Next up I rolled with purple spiderman. He got me with a few kimuras – need to work on that! He was really cranking up the intensity which was good! I need that to get ready for Atlanta.

I managed to snag Mr lightning blue belt for my next round. He’s great to roll with because he’s quick, and makes me work really hard, but doesn’t ever hurt me. He always keeps my heart rate up!

(Champion Pushups)

Next I went with one of our white belt guys who I have dubbed “breaker of my ribs” – since he was my partner when my rib cracked a few months back. He’s all right though – I was pretty tired from rolling with spiderman and blue lightning, but managed to play some solid defense. Yes, that’s my way of saying I was smashed most of the time. Notable achievements: foiled a butterfly sweep, and passed guard a couple times.

Final round I went with purple neutron star. We danced around a bit, I pulled guard, he passed, then proceeded to armbar me in a cool inverted way. He keeps telling me to “hip escape” – but it never seems to work on him. Maybe I should just practice doing hip escapes while dragging the grappling dummy across the mat? But then that means I’d have to touch it… Ew. Anyhow, I need to keep rolling with people like him who know my weaknesses and won’t let me work around them.

After class I was staggering around like a drunken sailor – just short of throwing up. Signs of a good class right there! Purple spiderman checked with me after to make sure he didn’t go to hard on me. I told him it was just right – pushed me to nausea but didn’t cause injury. He’s gonna work on some knee on belly stuff with me. He also pointed out that when he had my back, I was more interested in his feet than his arms. Bad Nicholle! Did get some kudos though, he said I was avoiding his sweeps that he had to snap them as aggressively as he did in order for them to work. Yay!

Anyhow, I went home after I had a chance to cool down. So tired! Sleep time!