First class

Went to Carlson's in Hammersmith last night as planned. As I was an hour early, I met Atilla Varga of the legendary Hungarian Thaifight Team and resident Muay Thai instructor,and was very accommodating. He offered me to stay and watch them train but decided to go to Tesco instead as I was feeling a bit hungry and wanted to make sure I had enough fuel to last me through the class.

When I came back I met VinceMachado, who was doing reception duties. Very funny guy and kept me and a fellow student entertained until the class started. There was initial talk that Wilson Junior was going to teach the basics class and Simon Hayes the next but when the class started, it was Simon at the front. Simon has excellent teaching skills - breaks down the technique into stages so it becomes easier to understand. I know this for a fact as I teach how to physically manage violent and aggressive clients to staff where I work. The techniques were also taught in a way that it flowed together.

There was a lot of time to practice the techniques, which allowed students to put into practice what they've seen - and drilling it so eventually it becomes second nature (muscle memory). I paired up with another first timer, Ben, and proceeded to practice. It appeared that although it was his first session in BJJ, he seemed to move in a manner who has been involved with other martial arts (which was verified when we chatted after class). I guess we were doing well during practice because Simon saw no cause to come over and correct us - except this one time when he came over to tell me to use the side of my head to tighten my squeeze on a submission choke from guard.

During sparring, I got to spar with the main man himself - only because I wasn't paired with anyone. I can't remember how many times I had to tap (LOL). I remember reading somewhere that when you're a BJJ white belt, the main goal during sparring is to SURVIVE. Whether all white belts subscribe to this or not,  that certainly was what I was trying to do when I was sparring with Simon. I fared a little bit better in the next sparring session as I was paired up with Jasper, a white belt with a black band. I still tapped a couple of times, but I appeared to be surviving better, as I was trying a few submissions of my own - very poorly executed, though. Jasper was kind enough to give me a few pointers during the session and afterwards complimented ( I think) me by saying I'm a fighter. I really hope that was a compliment and not a polite way of saying that I'm a spaz.

Afterwards, we all lined up and after hand shakes all over, the class ended.

It was a good class and they're a nice bunch. The club's very homey and accommodating. My only gripe is there didn't appear to be a shower room so I had to jump into the shower to get sanitised as soon as I got home before I could kiss my wife and daughter.

------------------

Here are the techniques that we've learned yesterday:
Passing the Guard to Side Control
Side Control to Mount
Cross Choke from Mount
Choke from Full Guard
Cross Choke from Full Guard
Reversal from Full Guard to Top Position