Jiu-jitsu Month 44 (flu recovery, sugar, seoi-nage)

I get sick once or twice a year and each time normally recover in less than a

week. I haven't had a flu shot in the past 20 years except for two Covid jabs in

2021 just to shut the karens up. Our doctors are great but I prefer to rely on

myself instead of the American healthcare system. The initial symptoms were gone

in three days after I caught the bug at the end of Jan.

 

The attack, however, came in stages. Next, I coughed non-stop until the eighth

day just to get my sleep back. It turned out not the end as this particular

strain had a rare long finish. I kept getting better but never felt 100%. Even

when everything else was fine, the nasal quality of my voice must make people

think I belong to the ER. It was depressing and I bided my time and read and

wrote in my room all day long, like a monk in a monastery until Feb 20 when a

warm spell overtook the area. I jumped on my bike and rode to the gym.

 

(What lessons have I learned? Since Halloweeen, I had a 5.6lb bag of candy from

Costco, a 2lb bag from target, Godiva ganache hearts, sugar in the coffee, etc.,

totaling over 15 lbs. It couldn't have been good for my system. The enemy I

thought I had beaten might have returned with a vengence. The month-long ordeal,

however, ingrained fruit-lunch and hydration as habits.)

 

Darren was untouched but many including Machine were hit and recovering. Seven

of us had a blast drilling the open guard and guard recovery. Unfortunately,

Quentin hurt his knee while sparring with Michael. I took it easy and only

rolled with Artem. Justin said on youtube that I was a good training mate. It

made me happy.

 

Mon Feb 24. Thank God I finally felt myself. It had been four weeks and sure was

great to see Machine again. We drilled omoplata from open-guard with sleeve and

collar control and feet on the hip and shoulder. We later rolled and he did the

move of the day on me once on each arm. I could see them coming but couldn't

stop him--this is jiu-jitsu. Ronaldo added a detail (knee on the bicep) that

improved the initial arm-trap and posture-break. Of my age, he was the second

person that claimed he never got sick and I believed him. His tips were bare

feet, sunshine+vitamin D, and fruits and vegetables. (Darren took vitamin D,

too.) Brian told me Leon was okay.

 

The next day I rolled with Leon for four rounds. I appreciated very much his

corrections for my takedowns. In the Judo seoi-nage, shouldn't touch the ground

with the crown of my head after ducking under. Another was when I did the

traditional GJJ throw, my hip shifted too far to his right side. After watching

two Aussies (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVbD9SpAjAw), I decided to give up

seoi-nage which they showed vulnerable to back-takes and practice their no-gi

judo throws: osoto gari, tai otoshi, deashi harai, uchi mata, and kouchi gari.

 

So by the last week of Feb, I had fully recovered and taken four classes. Coming

back feels great!