Sneezing and coughing, likely from allergy, kept me out of the gym for most of

the first week. (I tested negative for the second time for Covid.) Things

bounced back in the next week except that I headbutted Tim when doing a takedown

drill on Apr 13. His tongue was badly cut and the kid was on the brink of tears.

I felt terrible for three days. He recovered quickly. I learnt a painful lesson.

Nine long months of training had molded my body for jiu-jitsu. My shoulders and

hips finally got into shape, the right groin and the back of the knee almost

healed (it's been a year now), recovery was good, and five classes a week felt

not as challenging anymore. This was the beginning of, to paraphrase Henry

Akins, turning the body into a weapon.

In sparring, I have started to get on top more often and once there, I was able

to hold my opponent down from cross side. Greener guys would waste energy trying

to roll or bridge me, push me off, or put me back in guard. As I shifted my

weight and blocked their moves, they would soon exhaust themselves. I was even

able to pin heavier and some higher level guys. Frustrated at the bottom, one

135lbs bluebelt chided jokingly: "You can't just hold me down. You have to DO

something!" which made me laugh. If I were attacked on the street and could get

on top and keep the guy down until the police come, I would declare victory.

Confident at the cross-side top, I started to explore attacks from that

position. I had all Henry's courses but so far had been busy with only the

defenses and escapes and very rarely looked at the attacks. I picked the

paper-cutter choke to try and got it on most less-experienced guys that I rolled

with. This made me very happy. I also learnt from Henry the escapes from that

choke in case someone (especially Will) would do it to me.

I learnt three variations of escaping the kimura from the north-south position.

Gell used to submit me that way but after I studied three videos on the subject,

I easily thwarted both him and Will. I made a mistake when in the same position,

Cha trapped my bottom arm and she was able to submit me. She knew better than

the other guys to shutdown the easy way out. Next time I would be calmer and

execute the move correctly. Knowing how to escape helped pulling off the attack

and I did the same kimura on Tim one day and showed him how to get out. That was

far from the end of story, however. In jiu-jitsu, the effectiveness of a move

depends on how much it is practiced. Higher-level guys still submit me with the

same kimura.

From Henry, Rickson, and my gym, I learnt some great options at the close guard

bottom position and will continue to practice them. Coach Eric taught the

butterfly guard. As much as I'd like to be able to sweep people with that, it

would take time.

Although Tim had trained for five years, he relied a lot on strength and was not

eager to learn or refine skills. I was able to cause trouble for him gradually,

however, and tapped him a few times. He got better defending my reversals and

submitting me with his signature attacks. I made a point of rolling with him

often. This way, some of my progress transferred to him. After a class, driving

home with him for supper was often the most enjoyable time of the day.

Sparring has become much fun with people I trust. We are like kids playing a

game. Stephan and I pretended to be masters in a duel. We would imitate the

manners and tones of Kong Fu Panda characters. It was quite comical. After five

minutes of trying to strangle each other and to break each other's joints, we

would say thank-you, switch partners, and slap hands to start the next round. In

one evening, I usually do four rounds and get a good sweat. The beautiful thing

is that, once we get some experience and know how to relax and tap, normally no

one gets hurt.