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I know I’m a day late but gotta get my mat crush Monday post out to the public. Nope, this is not a male – female post or reference to any physical attraction. This post goes out to all of those grapplers who feel their heart start to race when their favorite training partner walks through the door. That guy or gal that consistently pushes you, challenges you, or gives you that roll that makes you go straight to YouTube to figure out how to beat that f*cker. We all have one, some of us are more polygamous but either way it’s pretty much a blah training session if that special someone or few people doesn’t show up to train.

While my mat crush is more along the lines of a “nemesis,” that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case for everyone. I enjoy being pushed and I prefer to leave the gym trying to figure out what’s not working and what to focus on next but that’s just me. Some people approach their training as a bit of a social event so their “relationship” is more casual. They drill with their crush, probably own one or two of the same gi’s, spats, or rashguards as their crush, and you’re definitely not rolling with their crush before they do. Just think back on if you’ve ever noticed giggling or laughter during live sparring and thought, “What the hell are they doing?” Or maybe you actually saw it happen and someone was just swepted or submitted with a technique they probably saw coming from a mile away or have been hit with millions of times. That’s the tell tale sign of a mat crush or a budding mat crush. No ego, no animosity about it, just “you got me again man, damn, good shit ha ha” and back to rolling. They just chill out and have the most fun rolls possible, technique may slip at times but who cares. You may witness a bunch of cartwheel passes, berimbolos, or flying submissions those are definitely telltale signs of two people in a “relationship”.

No matter what and all judgment aside, we all need this type of teammate. They push you when required, provide assistance when we hit plateaus, and add humor to something we all take pretty seriously. If you know what I’m talking about then the next time you train thank your mat crush. No, I don’t mean verbally, I mean a solid fist bump before sparring, choke the sh*t out of them, laugh, and then get back to rolling.

That’s what they’d want you to do anyway. Anything more than that or different would just be awkward.

*This is not my man crush btw. I happen to like the pic. Justin is a cool dude tho. LOL

#keepgrinding

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Fun and Games for everyone! Last night I made the trek to Dominion BJJ in Manasses Virginia to participate in a night of Cosmic Rolling. Most people, like me,  have never heard of cosmic rolling and could not understand who would come up with such a thing or why. Well I have news for you, it is a real thing and it is as fun as it sounds. Recall back to your days of youth and going out with your friends to cosmic bowling. Blacklights, music, fun times, and making new friends. This is exactly the same just replace bowling with Jiu Jitsu and beer with fancy waters.

The pictures do not do this event justice. In my defense I have never tried to capture an event like this and I am a self taught amatuer photographer soooo good enough.  I think somewhere between 30-40 people stepped on the mat to roll at some point and people were continuously coming and going throughout the event. Multiple academies from Maryland and Virginia as well as every size, skill level, and gender were represented. I think I maybe witnessed 2 or 3 rolls that I would have considered a little much for an open mat but thats just me and thats just my opinion. I didn’t have the opportunity to roll with everyone but as usual I was impressed by the level of skill present in the DMV.

A big thank you to Dominion BJJ – Black Belt Bill Nagle and Purple Belt Michelle Welti – for opening up the academy and welcoming everyone to a night of fun and camaraderie. Jiu Jitsu is often seen as academy vs academy, style vs style and people often do not take advantage of the opportunity to meet fellow practitioners and to contribute to its growth. Personally I think this is one of the negative aspects of what we do.

Don’t limit yourself.

Train as many places as possible (meaning open mats) and meet as many people as possible. You will be happy that you did.