Concluding the month of Half Guard

As usual my buddy Dev keeps me honest. He very nicely reminded today that I have not wrote any conclusion on my "month of half guard." Well, to be honest with you it was actually two months of half guard. After the first month I still really couldn't even begin to wrap my head around using it, so I had to work it again for another month. I have to say that I'm really glad I did. between Coach and Dev I really learned some great stuff.

What I found out about myself is that I'm still pretty nervous about working from half guard, which is weird considering I train under a half guard master! But, jiu jitsu is an individual journey, as he will be the first to tell you, and my game is my game :) Both Coach and Dev helped me to see the importance of recognizing when half guard is the best option...like when my guard is getting past. Don't wait for a scramble to get there. Recognize that you can initiate the transition yourself and make it YOUR position. From there I can still work to get to my "happy place", which is back control.

I also had to let some pride go, check my ego and be reminded that "a punch is just a punch". There's no magical, super-delicious, ultra secret half guard truths that I'm just not getting. Like everything else in BJJ its a position with lots of options, which I still have to learn and drill. In the words of Coach - "don't get mad that you didn't master a position in a month." :)

So, in the end it was a great two months that probably taught me more about myself then it did about half guard...but is that so wrong!?! Next time this cycle comes around I truly believe that I will be mentally, as well as physically, ready for it.