Sunday Class 11/25/2007

Well, my run downtown is over, and I'm back to a regular commute. I'll be able to attend class on a much more regular basis in the future. On top of that, my 10 year old daughter is anxious to begin training herself. She's been bugging me about it for months, and now that the commute is easier, we're going to try and make it work. I hope she really gets into it.

There are a number of reasons that I'm hoping she gets into training in BJJ. The first is that it's a legitimate life sport. BJJ is something that a healthy person can continue doing for life. The health benefits are great, there's an active competitive aspect should one desire it, and it's relatively cheap, requiring nothing more at its root than a pair of board shorts and a rashguard.

In addition to these reasons is of course my desire for my daughter to grow up confident and capable. While I don't necessarily think that she will need to defend herself from a dozen ninja attacking her in her sleep, I would feel more comfortable knowing that she could ably defend herself from an overzealous 17 year old boy. There are many other reasons that women should grapple. Grapplearts.com is a great website that includes helpful articles on a number of grappling related topics. Another really good article for women considering grappling can be found there, too. This one written by Liz Posener, a professional MMA fighter from Vancouver, BC.

Of course, she may hate it. I hope not, and to be honest, the kids classes look like a lot of fun. I'd be surprised if she doesn't have a good time.

Class included a really slick sweep from guard that sets up either a kimura or an armbar. The time to make this sweep work is when I'm on my side facing my opponent, have one hand posted on his shoulder to keep space and control of his wrist with my bottom hand. I am trying to keep a knee in and working to reestablish guard, but am in danger of being passed into side control.

In this case, I'm on the bottom, up on my left side and my opponent is threatening to pass around to my left/his right. I want to control his right wrist with my left arm, driving it back to his stomach or further if possible, and I'm keeping some space with my right arm on his shoulder. He's thinking about moving around my knees, so may even be helping me by reaching back with his right hand to push a knee through. At the point where he just clears my knees, I'm going to reach over with my other hand (right hand in this case) and grab his belt, or if it's no gi, keep my elbow in and grab in around his left armpit. I'm going to then just roll right onto a top position, if possible driving my knees in tight and maintaining control of that arm.

From here, my opponent is ideally defending from a bad position, as I've got him up on his side looking the wrong way defending his arm. If my knees are in tight and I've got good pressure, it's going to be difficult for him to turn into me. If he does try, he's going to create enough space for me to get a good figure four grip on his arm and then turn it either for the kimura or the armbar.

I found that keeping a knee in really helps when setting up the sweep, as the temptation for my opponent to help me control his wrist by reaching down to push the knee through is often irresistable to him.

In my first sparring match with Jeremy, I realized that he was going for a pass that set him up perfectly for this sweep, so I trapped his wrist and fwoop, I was on top. It worked effortlessly. I was so surprised that I left too much space and, while I still ended up in a pretty good position, it wasn't a particularly strong one for me.

Later in the same match, I tried the same sweep, but went for it too late and he was expecting it. From guard, I tend to play a lot with scissor sweeps and trying to move to my opponents' backs, and so I end up getting passed often in a way that will really set this sweep up. So, this is definitely a move I intend to make a part of my arsenal.

On a slightly less positive note, I was rolling with one of the blue belts and because I made a very stupid mistake tapped to an armbar. Well, that just shows how much more I have to learn, I guess.

Moving on, now that I'm into my second year of training in BJJ, I've been thinking about my goals. So far, I have a few that I'd like to achieve:

1. Train 3 to 4 times per week diligently.
2. Start really developing my game and work on creating openings rather than looking for them.
3. I'd like to earn a blue belt this year. I think this is achievable if I train regularly.
4. Compete in 2 or more tournaments, preferably at 170lbs.
5. Encourage my daughter to have fun training, too.

Readability, Non-BJJ

Nathan, over at TDA Training posted a link to determine how readable one's blog is. I dutifully entered my URL and came out like this:



I think that it's interesting to see how things change over time. After four years working toward an English degree with a minor in Philosophy, my written voice was probably only understandable within the delicate ecosystem of a University.

Having worked in training for the last several years, I'm not surprised at this rating. What's cool about having this blog is that it has allowed me to try and rekindle my love for creative writing, a skill that I had largely lost in my professional attempts to pare down my written voice to only the essential, most efficient means of communicating information. And they never appreciate a good fart joke. Sad, really. :)

Tuesday BJJ Class 11/13/2007

After Sunday's wheelbarrow warm-up extravaganza my arms were really tight. I thought I'd better get into class to try and loosen them up a little. Of course, that was before the pushup extravaganza. In all seriousness, the Sunday class started off with what I'd consider to be a medium level warm-up. Jogging and such, followed by somewhere around 60 pushups, crunches, side crunches and leg lifts. Nothing too out of the ordinary, other than my arms being tired from Sunday.

Technique involved showing us a few ways to get to a particular attack position from open guard. I've been caught in this position before and don't like it. Basically, it's where I have good control of my opponent's wrists/cuffs and have my knees inside his arms with my feet posted on his hips. It's a tough position to get out of if you ever find yourself in it.

Coach showed us this to help us counter wrestlers who are content to stall in closed guard. If you've ever been taken down by a good wrestler, established guard only to have him control your arms, put his head on your sternum and pin your hips so you can't move, you're not alone. The other possibility is if he keeps his elbows pinched in tight and just focuses on controlling your hips. Usually, it's a combination of the two.

To get the match moving again, the first technique is to grip behind my opponent's elbows and simply elevate my hips. As I drop them down, I'll have a brief window of opportunity to pull the elbows out, creating enough space to bring my knees inside. Then move my grips to the cuffs. If my opponent is keeping his elbows in tight, but isn't really controlling my arms, I'll push on his head and move my hips out to one side. This will give me space to bring my knee in. It also happens to be a fairly decent omoplata setup.

If neither of the above techniques is working, I can also try moving my hip out just a little and then working my hand through on one side or the other, reach over with my other hand and use a gable grip to literally pry the guy up enough to get my knees inside.

From there, we worked on the triangle choke. Some details on the triangle are to remember to get a good angle. My leg should be across my opponent's neck, not down on his back. Some other basics are to remember to grip my shin to adjust, not my foot, get the arm across and finish by elevating my hips and pulling down on the head.

In sparring, I felt pretty good. I rolled first with Mike, a strong one-striper. I pulled guard and tried to work chokes, then moved to a scissor sweep that didn't work. He got around it and tried to establish side control. At one point, I was keeping one arm up on his neck and the other on his hip. He tried to swing around into an armbar, but I rolled up with it and used a smashpass to take side control where I eventually got an Americana. He pulled guard after that, and I passed into side control, but couldn't get anything done from there. I had him pinned pretty well, but didn't really get anything done.

My second match was with Kelly who is getting better all the time, but still forgets to breathe. And then I finished with a match with Doug, a blue belt. Doug pretty much killed me. I had fun, but as is usual, I can see how much I have to learn still.

Happy Veteran's Day

For some people, Veteran's Day is a "shopping holiday." In my family, it's a time to relax, but also a time to think about all of the people who have served in our armed forces, who are still serving and who have died. I would also like to give thanks to all of the veterans who are returning home from overseas with permanent disabilities, many thousands of whom will never return to their "day jobs" that they held and supported their family with before being called up. Because our field medicine and emergency care is so much better than in the past, more soldiers survive battlefield injury than ever before. While this is most definitely a good thin, this means we have more disabled vets than ever before returning home.

I am vehemently opposed to our occupation of Iraq, and believe that our current administration is about as morally bankrupt as any could be, making decisions involving the welfare of our nation and of our troops for personal and political gain rather than national security and our general safety. Supporting our troops has become synonymous to some with supporting the President, but I don't think that's true.

I'm very proud of my own family's service. Every member of my immediate family is a veteran, and many members of my extended family as well. Between my brothers, my parents and myself, we have over 50 years of military service and counting.

In order to avoid getting preachy or political, I'll just stop with a sincere thanks to everyone who has served in the armed forces. And if anyone else is so inclined, I would encourage you to thank a veteran sometime today. If you're truly thankful and want to make a difference, encourage your representatives to take care of our troops, provide adequate funding to the VA hospitals so that our injured and disabled troops receive the ongoing care they need and support the Veterans Administration in their efforts to provide everything from coats and sleeping bags to the thousands of homeless vets to social work to disability benefits.

Sunday BJJ Class - 11/11/2007

Sunday's class was very good. Because I'm not making as many classes per week (I think a minimum of 3/week is required) I feel like my cardio is slipping back a bit. My goal for December is to get my attendance up to 3 BJJ classes and then Jeff's Drills and Conditioning class as often as possible. That one's going to be a challenge regardless of my commute because it starts at 5pm, but I think I can make it more often than not.

My daughter has also expressed an interest in training with us. I'm not sure if it's going to be something she's going to stick with or not, but I'd like to give her a chance. The girls do very well, and if she starts this young and sticks with it, she'll be in great shape. BJJ is a tough sport, but it's also a legitimate life-long pursuit if someone remains motivated. Lots of guys continue to roll regularly and even compete into their 50's. The kid's classes all start very early, so getting her there will be a challenge, but I think we can manage it.

Warm-ups were actually pretty fun. We did the usual jogging, sliding, rolling, sprawls and that. But we also did a couple of drills that were kind of new. One was a wheelbarrow drill. So, I would start by wheelbarrowing my partner to the other end of the mat, basically, I grab his feet and he walks with his hands. Then he jumps on my back and I run with him back to the line. Then we switch. Then Bill put out three of the heavy bags. In this variation of the previous drill, we wheelbarrow to the bag, then push ourselves up onto the bag... like a push-up, but with enough lift to get us up onto a bag that's about 15"-18" high with someone holding our feet up. Then hop down off of the bag and hopping the rest of the way down the mat. I felt okay after we were done with these, but last night I woke up at about 1:30am and my shoulders and biceps were just burning like crazy. Nothing a couple of ibuprofen didn't take care of, but yowch!

Technique yesterday focused on a guard pass. There are several basic guard passes where one starts by opening up an opponent's closed guard and then immediately bringing the knee up. Widening out the knee that's down, sitting back on that foot and keeping my arms outside of my knees provides me with a good base. At this point, it's impossible for my opponent to close his guard. Many of the guard passes from here involve bringing the knee that is up down over the same side leg. In this pass, we actually bring it across and to the mat. The danger of this technique is that if you don't do it correctly, you are in danger of giving up your back. The advantage, however, is that it's a little different than the usual guard passes. It's also pretty simple.

To execute the pass, I'm starting with my right knee up. I've probably got control of my opponent's left wrist/cuff and I'm sitting with good posture and have a nice, strong base. When I'm ready, I'm going to slide my right knee across and over my opponent's right hip, keeping my foot hooked into his thigh. At the same time, I'm bringing my head in low and getting an underhook with my right arm. I found that I have to post my left leg out almost immediately as well, or it's in danger of getting hooked by the bad guy. Then when I'm ready, I'll release the hook with my right foot, and drive that knee into my opponent's hip, establishing side control.

There are some variations of the same pass. One involves getting a cross grip on my opponent's lapel instead of an underhook on that side. To avoid giving up my back, I have to keep my head low and my elbow back and in. If I get too loose, I'm going to get reversed. Another danger is of getting too high and getting rolled.

We sparred two minute rounds for 1/2 hour and then moved into open mat. I rolled with one of the guys from class for a while. He gets on my nerves because he can be lying on the mat looking like he's about to die, but then just keeps going. He's like the Energizer Bunny.

Martial Arts for Disabled People

A few years back, when I was at my previous school, the focus was on training kids, and for some reason many of the kids were autistic to varying degrees. Prior to meeting these kids, I really had no idea what autism was. I mean, in a very abstract way, autism was to me something that Rainman had... idiot savante type stuff. Crazy math skills and not much else.

Turns out, lots of kids are autistic and more are being diagnosed all the time. While it's unclear as to what is causing the dramatic increase in the number of autistic kids, I've heard and read many theories. While some will point to over-diagnosis and medical fraud, I just don't see it. The kids I met were clearly struggling to make his body follow his mind's instructions. The theory that seems most reasonable to me is the increase in multi-use vaccinations that use what is in theory a safe form of mercury, thimerosal, as a stabilizer/preservative. Some of the theories point to environment, food allergies, but we began using this mercury preservative and multi-use vaccinations in the late 80s and miraculously began seeing an upward trend in diagnosed autism. Now, this could be like the Global Warming/Pirate relationship outlined here. But it just seems reasonable to me.

On martial arts forums, such as Bullshido.net or MartialArtsPlanet.com and elsewhere, the topic of other martial artists who have different disabilities comes up. Can a person in a wheelchair become a black belt in karate? Can a guy with one leg do a flying sidekick and make it work? Of course, the answer is, it depends upon the person, the disability and the particular martial arts style. It would be very difficult for someone in a wheelchair to grapple, for example. I have seen a person with only one usable arm do pretty well, however. I think this is an interesting question.

Another question that I find interesting is this. I'm deeply troubled by the entire idea of McDojos, 9 year old black belts and all of the bogus, money grubbing that goes along with it. That said, for kids with learning disabilities such as autism, is learning in a McDojo beneficial? Does anyone have experience working with autistic or disabled people in their schools?

Non-BJJ Public Transportation Gripe

As some of my friends and relations are aware, I've been commuting from the land of cows, horses and alpacas to downtown Seattle for the last three months. November is my last month, and I just have a couple of observations about the train I've been taking.

See, one of the cooler things about commuting into downtown is the Sounder commuter train. It's fast, relatively comfortable, has WiFi on some of the cars and, since the end of September, has a relatively good schedule with five trains running as early as 5am from Tacoma.

There are some people I'd like to say a few words to and since I'm trying to post every day, I thought I might say them here.

So, to the guy who thinks it's just fine to tap me on the arm and ask me if I like my iPhone when I'm watching a TV show, please just read your book. My earphones are in, I've just finished up Jon Stewart and am rolling into the Colbert Report and someone wants to chat. Really. I bought the iPhone because it does a lot of neat things, like video, so I can wake up at an obscene hour of the morning and still watch the two shows I enjoy that are on after my bedtime.

To the dude who considers it an inconvenience to sit next to anyone else, deal with it. I don't care if you glare at me, and I don't mind scooting to the inside seat. One side benefit of training in BJJ is that I am not concerned at all about personal space, so if you try to mark your territory by spreading your legs out and lounging, I will do the same. I can almost guarantee that the incidental leg contact will make you more uncomfortable than it will me. Oh, and if you're being a jerk about it, I will also make sure I take my time putting my coat up in the overhead with my ass right in your face. Yes, it's intentional.

To the people who weave back and forth along the sidewalk, pick a line and stay in your lane. Pretend you're driving. I've noticed as I'm walking from the train station to my office (almost 2 miles), people don't walk in straight lines. It's a little strange. Maybe I'm the only one not spiking my coffee.

Continuing a theme, to the guy who doesn't wear deodorant... dude. Really? It's $3. I mean, even if you're allergic, can't you throw some baby powder or something in the jungle? Or at least hold back on the garlic. Wow. I'll willingly share my seat with anyone but you. So, for the record, I am the jerk who glares at you when you ask to sit down... if the person asking is you, Greasypore McStinkypits.

Maybe tomorrow I'll write up my top ten reasons I like working downtown. I'll end, though, on a positive note. The award for Best Espresso Downtown in Seattle: Monorail Espresso. It's a hole in the wall place over on... what... Pike and 5th? No, literally. It's a hole in the wall outside of Banana Republic, and seems to be the preferred coffee for the bike couriers downtown. The people working there are genuinely nice and the coffee is strong without being burnt or overdrawn. If only they had a drive thru!

1 Year Anniversary: Things I wish I'd known when I started

Before I ever stepped into my school, I had done a lot of reading. I wasn't satisfied at my old school for many reasons, but didn't want to make the same mistakes again. So, I did some research.

On a slight tangent, I owe a large debt of gratitude to the core participants at Bullshido.net. There is a lot of static that you have to get through. But there's also a ton of knowledge and some very valuable, necessary resistance to popular martial arts dogma. It wasn't until I began reading some of the articles on Bullshido that I could even begin to articulate the problems I had with my old training. I was already unhappy, but hadn't yet figured out specifically why. Reading the articles, I found myself nodding my head in agreement to many of the things that were written. Learning about Matt Thornton and the concepts of "aliveness", I actually found some tangible, concrete traits that I could then look for in my next school. And most importantly, that there WERE schools still doing things that way.


So, ultimately, that led me to BJJ. It's been one year now since I first stepped into James Foster's school and so I thought I'd commemorate the anniversary by sharing a few of the things that I would like to have known, or am glad that I knew before I went in. Some of these came to mind after Coach reminded us of them in class on Sunday. So, if you're thinking about taking up BJJ, here are a few things that I would really recommend that you know before you go in. I expect that I'll read this post as I will most others in 10 years and blush at how naive I am right now.

Some articles on this subject are available from people who are in a much better position to offer advice. If you're in classes now, of course your instructor is a great resource. If you're considering your first class, a great article on Grapplearts is available (http://www.grapplearts.com/Starting-BJJ-Classes.htm).

Ultimately, the thing I learned from Bullshido is this: don't be a jerk (actually, the Bullshido term is more appropos, but in the interest of keeping a PG rating, I can't post it here). Most of the following are just specific examples of either being or not being a jerk. There are many others.

1. 
   First, tap early and often. The first skill you will need to know in BJJ is how to tap. Before you learn to pass guard, before you learn your first sweep or your first submission, you will likely learn what it is to be at the mercy of someone else. The three ways to tap are to tap the mat or your partner with your hand (not your fist). You can also use your feet if your hands are unavailable. Or you can say, "Tap." Normally, you'll say, "Tap, tap, tap." Doing this should cause your partner to pause and not break your arm. Saying "ouch", grunting, growling, pinching, biting, or anything other than the three ways I mentioned will likely encourage your partner to continue, not make them stop.
2. 
   In conjunction with knowing how to tap is to know when to tap. If you are in an untenable position, tap. Recognizing the futility of a situation comes with experience. I've seen a particular situation occur over and over. A brand new guy's arm is fully extended and there is no way he's going to escape. Or he's turning purple and making that strange gurgling sound that means he's not getting any air. In other words, whomever he's sparring with has a submission and it's locked in. He doesn't, however, understand the situation. He continues to flop around. By doing this, the lower belt has created a dillemma for the upper belt. Does he continue to grind the submission? This could potentially injure the lower belt, and there's no excuse for that. Most will move on to a different submission. The potential problem I've seen with some is that they don't understand the distinction between being allowed to continue and escaping or reversing a technique. This can be dangerous to someone who just doesn't get it, as it doesn't help them to learn when to tap. I don't know what the answer is, but I do know that there's no problem if everyone knows when to tap.
3. 
   Next thing is that you don't win or lose in sparring. Sparring isn't about winning or losing a match. Of course, one of the things I really like about BJJ and grappling in general is that one can really push a match in sparring. But, I understand now that my partner, regardless of rank, is either working on some techniques or concepts or allowing me to do the same. Often, both. So, if you spar to win, you're missing the point.
4. 
   If people keep breaking when you spar with them, the problem is you. It's like that old saying, "There's only one thing that all of your failed relationships have in common: you." While injury is possible regardless of who you are sparring with, if you are leaving a trail of rib, elbow, or neck injuries in your wake, you're doing something wrong.
5. 
   Wash your gi and yourself. I mean, seriously.
6. 
   Try not to cheat. By cheating, I don't mean breaking rules, fighting dirty or anything like that. I mean, don't do things on white belts just because you know they work on white belts. My general rule of thumb is that if it doesn't work on a blue belt, it doesn't work. Or in other words, I try to spend my time developing techniques that work on a competent opponent rather than on techniques that prey upon the ignorance of my opponent.
   

That's all that comes to mind. If anyone has any other tips for beginners, I'd be glad to hear them. I'm still very much a beginner. As I said at the beginning, these are the things that I'm either glad I knew before I started, or wish that I'd known.

Sunday BJJ Class 11/4/2007

I don't know whether it was the humidity in the school or just my irregular attendance at class, but I was very tired all class long. Low energy. It was really good to be at the school, though, and lots of people were there who I haven't seen in a while.

First, less than a week into the month and I've already blown the one post per day thing. I stink. Sorry! :)

Technique started with a way to take someone's back when you've got them in your half guard and then a technique to deal with a common counter. Then sparring, 2 minute rounds again because the class was large.

The technique starts with me on the bottom. My opponent is in my half guard and I'm going to take his back. The starting position is always up on my side. If this is my right side, I'll have my right (bottom) leg hooked around his right leg, my right (bottom) hand posted on his hip to help create space and my left (top) hand on his left shoulder, or gripping his lapel if it's available, with my forearm in his neck. Being in this position gives me a lot of options and creates space. Also, having my forearm in his neck as described makes it uncomfortable for him to create lots of pressure. The more he pushes into me, the more pressure he creates on his own neck. Also, I can widen my elbow out to drive him off balance.

That last is exactly the first step in this technique. If he's trying to pass my half guard or just trying to make me uncomfortable in a control position, he's probably going to have an over/under grip and try to get his head in close, creating lots of shoulder pressure. Often, the first step in trying to pass someone's half-guard is to flatten him out. So, as he drives in trying to flatten me out, I'm going to use my control of his head through my forearm on his neck to drive him off balance. I do this by widening out my elbow... basically, just trying to point my elbow toward the ceiling. Next, I'm going to swim this top arm (my left if I'm on my right side) through and get an underhook. I'm still on my side.

The next step is to shuck his right arm over. I can do this in one of several different ways. I can simply reach as far out past my head as I can with my left arm, bringing my shoulder into my ear. I can also get a grip in his armpit and push from there. I'm sure there are a lot of other ways. I think Coach Foster showed us another way, as well. The main thing is that you're going to drive him foward, off balance and bring your head under his arm. At the same time as I shuck that arm over my head, I'm going to pull myself down with my feet. This can be done in one of several ways, too. The ones that worked for me were to pull myself at the same time, and to kick strongly, causing me to scoot a few inches in that direction.

Now my opponent is screwed. The next step is to establish my position. I'll start by reaching all the way over with my left arm, and then widening out my knee to strengthen my base. I'll get a good over/under control and either step into the second hook, or if I can't, I'll stay tight to his back and pull him over so I can get the second hook in.

The second technique is a sweep that is available from a common counter. All things are the same. I have my opponent in my half guard and I swim for the underhook. He immediately counters by attempting to whizzer my arm. This is a very simple control/submission where my opponent basically reaches inside with his right arm and creates a lot of pressure on my elbow. Picture my elbow being caught between my shoulder and on his back, and then my opponent pulling my elbow sideways. Ouch. As Bill would say, "That just pisses me off. Now it's go time." If I leave my arm out, I'm going to tap out or get injured, so I want to swim my arm inside, pinching my elbow in tight and grabbing his hand or wrist if possible. I want to take his base away on that side. Next, I'm going to hook his left leg with my right arm and turn into the sweep. The harder he tries to create pressure, the easier this sweep will be to execute. After taking him over, I'm going to keep the hook on his right leg until I can step back and establish side control

Sparring was exhausting. I was really having trouble catching my breath. I'm also quite sore today, so maybe I worked harder than I thought. I didn't feel like I was putting out all that much, and yet I was exhausted after every match. As we were doing 2 minute rounds, I think I was able to roll 6 different times.

Not sure what my work schedule is like this week, but this is my last month working downtown, so I'll be able to get back to a normal schedule before too long, and hopefully get back into class 3 or 4 days per week.

A brief Starbucks rant

Starbucks. Drive thrus. I'd like to hear your beef with either. I'll start us off.

For the record, though, I love drive thrus. They're convenient and are very handy. I also don't hate Starbucks. I get, oh, I don't know... one or two Americanos during the business day on my breaks. I do, however, have problems with some of what they do and how they do it. Right now, topping off my list is their drive thru script.

Most places, you go to the drive thru and they open with some combination of "Thanks," and "Order when you're ready," with an occasional, "We'll be right with you." Not Starbucks. That's not faux friendly enough! Close your eyes and picture this. Wait. You're reading this, so don't close your eyes... but still, try to picture this. It's 5:30 am in Seattle, dark, about 45F and raining. I am in my little car about to hit a 40 minute commute on I-5 along with an obscene number of fellow commuters all doing the same thing. I'm tired. I'm probably a little cranky. And as I'm sitting in the Starbucks drive thru, I'm very likely decaffienated. So, I roll up to the drive thru squawk box and roll down my window. Now it's raining on me and in my car. I'm getting wet and I'm even less happy than before.

Starbucks box: "GOOOoooOOOD MORNING! How are you doing this morning?"

The overly enthusiastic "Good morning," is obnoxious but forgivable. The part that really annoys me is the irrelevant question. Bear in mind, I am only interested in one thing. Coffee. I have no relationship with the disembodied voice from the box. He/She is not a buddy of mine. We have no rapport. So, now I'm conflicted... and wet... getting wetter. Do I encourage the behavior? I could force myself to sound chipper as I reply, "Fine, thanks." Do I do the voice one better? I could prolong the agony even more by adding, "and how are you?" This would invite the inevitable reply. "Great thanks. What can we get for you?"

I can only hope it's a renegade drive thru worker; however, the next morning, at the same drive thru, a different voice came from the box and said the exact same thing. Clearly, I thought, this Starbucks has been ill trained. Since, in Seattle, I can literally drive across the street to another Starbucks drive thru, I decided I would just change my routine a little bit and change crews. But they did the same thing. A pattern begins to emerge. I begin to wonder if it's typical Seattle-esque passive aggressive behavior, being mean but in a nice way. I wonder if the Starbucks employees are really angry and this is a way of making everyone pay for that person having to get up even earlier to be there at 5:30am to take my order.

So, I tried ignoring the question. "How are you?" the voice asked. "I'd like a tall Americano with light room," I replied. From the pause, it was clear that I had hurt the voices feelings. "That'll be $2.14," says the voice, now cold and impersonal.

Well, that didn't work. I mean, I don't want to chit chat, but I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings... even the feelings of a voice from a box. The next morning, I tried changing up my script. "How are you?" asks the voice. "I'm thirsty for a tall Americano, but I think my luck's about to change." That sure didn't work. Seemed okay on paper, but it goes outside of their script and ends up prolonging the conversation even more. "What was that?" says the voice. Sigh. "I'm fine. How are you?"

This annoyed me so much that I actually tried going to some other drive thru espresso places. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I don't like their coffee as much. I like the tall Americano from Starbucks. It's strong enough, but not too strong and it's consistent. I know that it will taste the same tomorrow as it did today, and in my book, that's important. So, if any Starbucks employees are reading this, please stop asking me how I'm doing until I'm at the window talking to a real person, preferably under an awning that will prevent at least the lion's share of rain from getting all over me and the interior of my car. Please.

Oh, and if I didn't order a lemon, ginger, poppyseed scone, a low-fat raisin, panino dolce roll or a reduced fat, cinnamon swirl coffee cake, it's not because I forgot.

NaBloPoMo

What does that mean? The hell if I know. BBM asked me to do this, and I'm a sucker for... you know? Now that I think about it, we can just end that sentence there; I'm a sucker.

Having joined, I am committed to posting every day in November. Do I know why yet? No. Do I know what NaBloPoMo is? No. Do I know what posting every day in November will do for me? Nope. No idea. To be quite honest, I am barely registered on their website.

But I promised, so I will do my best to comply. This is post number Uno (or for you traditional martial artists in the crowd: Ichi).

I've got a few things to post about. Of course, much of this will be non-BJJ. I'm in my last month working downtown, so I'm still making only 1 or 2 classes per week, but I'll try and post something interesting every day, and I'll try and post regarding BJJ related stuff as I can.