So this post is short, but very beneficial. It actually relates to the last post about jujitsu. During jujitsu, I noticed that my breathing had been somewhat labored. This wasn't because of some guy sitting on my chest, although I'll admit, I had considered the possibility. No. I realized I had an ongoing sinus problem that had to be dealt with. I ride a bike, and for those of you who know San Francisco weather, it is foggy in the morning, warm in the afternoon (in certain neighborhoods) , and cold in the evening. This calls for layers of clothing that can be removed and returned on the body as needed. Well, add biking, plus the elements, and my sinuses decided to revolt. I didn't want to take any over the counter medicine. I had heard the body can become resistant to anti-histamines, and eventually call for higher doses. What I needed was something natural.
I felt like I had seen it before. Yes. In a yoga book I was reading, about ten years ago. I rediscovered a fun little thing called a neti pot. For those of you who know what this is, you know that this is the shit ( the bomb, the lick , the cats meow, etc. ). With it, you basically pour water up your nose and it drains out the other side. cool. All the bad stuff comes out with it, and your basically breathing as if your nostrils were the size of dinner plates. It 's a good thing I swear. I felt sooo much better after using it. No more sinus headaches. I even felt like my vision was better. If this interests you , click here.
This photo is only used for illustrative purposes. I don't have any pics of me rolling yet. Coming soon.
So a little background. I've been studying brazilian jujitsu for about 7 months now and I am so hooked. I haven't competed yet , but I love to spar. I take it at K-one fitness on Van Ness ave. in the Pacific Heights neighborhood in San Francicsco. For anyone who doesn't know, BJJ is like wrestling, but with a gi and submissions, basically painful joint locks, and chokes. It's actually really fun and is an insane workout. I'm probably in the best shape of my life. There's no motivation quite like someone on top of you trying to choke you unconscious. It beats lifting weights any day.
So I was talking to my girlfriend about a new student in class who brought up a good point , possibly without realizing it. We worked on a technique and then drilled it for a while to make some sort of neural connection , muscle memory with it, and then it was time to spar. At this point the new guy looked at me with a little nervousness peeking through and said, be easy on me , I don't know what to do. At this point I wanted to give some words of encouragement, something to make him realize it was ok to not know. I told him, you know , just do whatever feels right. Your body will react with whatever you see fit and that will be just fine. And that was that. We sparred and it was fun and no one got hurt. What really struck me was that anxiety that he revealed , was really due to thoughts and beliefs about what could go wrong : for instance, how I might look bad, if I get hurt, and on and on. Sometimes not knowing what to do is the best. You are not tied to any belief or style. Even better, you're not impressed by how good you are.You just go with it because, that's all you know.
Now. Do I think jujitsu can be a metaphor to reveal something about living ....you bet. In jujitsu when you are in a dominant position and you are looking for a submission you most likely are not going to get the first sub you go for. Thats ok. Are you gonna give up cause you didnt get the first sub, hell no. The trick is working it, going again, looking for the sub. Setting them up, looking for openings....and then capitalizing on them. You can know some techniques and how to apply them in an alive situation, but the inteplay between the two opponents is the deciding factor on whats gonna be used and when. You still have to be creative. You still have to be open and free, meaning not stuck in your head.
Don't worry about it. Just do whatever feels right. It turned out the advice for the new student was good advice for me too.
By the way. For anyone reading this, that wants a really good blog about jujitsu you have to read Aesopians blog. I have a link in the blog roll. It's so good and he breaks down moves like a scientist. Peace.
Well, I'm back. Justine and I went to Cancun, then Playa del Carmen, but no Chichen-itza or Palenque. Cancun was as touristy as you can imagine. Think Las Vegas, but on a beautiful white sand beach. We did find some cool things though. One: Las Flores Hostel. Really small and colorful with only two dorms with four beds in each, and two private rooms. The privates ran only $25.00 for a double, which is pretty cheap. I told the owner I was from San Francisco and the first thing he asked me was if I was gonna vote for Obama. He was really cool. Now, the drawback...the private room in the back has a window facing Blue hostel, which has a rooftop deck and BLASTS house music thursday through sunday. If you're a light sleeper then I suggest going out hard, dancing a lot and coming home exhausted, then sleep is no problem. As a fan of house music , I say definitely visit Blue hostel. The crowd was young and the music is good. There's also a cool reggae club on Margaritas street, right in front of The Mayan Hostel. Everyone has dreads and they sell guaymas, quarts of beer. Nice....I love people that smile at you when you walk in. Maybe I was smiling. Now, Playa del Carmen. This place killed it. Soooo beautiful. We stayed at Colores Mexicanos Hostel which definitely grew on me. We were three blocks from stretches of beautiful beach. The main street is 5th avenue, which is a pedestrian thoroughfare. Lots of families, lots of languages and lots of leathery, dark, sun-baked skin. It was great people watching, of which Justine and I became experts. Everyone has dinner at like 10:00 p.m. and the clubs are empty till 12:00a.m. We stopped at a bar that gave these huge 32 oz. cups of mojitos. I was getting loaded by the halfway point. I might be a lightweight. Justine and I came to the conclusion that house music was the official music of Playa del Carmen. I almost forgot. Cafe Press on 2nd street and 5th avenue. For those people who have trouble waking up in the morning, they serve you a french press of good coffee for $2.00. This and pan dulce was my breakfast pretty much the whole trip. Have a good day.
