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| Welcome to The Crash! |
As we left off I was feeling like cutting my ears off from the pain and discomfort of having what evolved into a double ear infection, things got better. Let's rewind back to my first time showing up at Ultimate Karate & Jiu Jitsu in Meridian, Idaho, home of Prof. Keith 'The Rhino' Owen. It was Tuesday, I had already missed Monday dealing with the initial ear infection and still felt horrible but well enough to show up and watch class. I was kind of excited to show up even though I was unable to train because for one Mr. Keith is great man and an amazing teacher so anytime being in his presence is always time well spent, but also I wanted to actually be in the place I've seen pictures and videos of. That goes really for all the places I visited this trip, it's really an exciting feeling to walk through the doors to a gym you've seen so many photos of so you can finally feel that feeling of training there for yourself. It's like immersing yourself in a good book where you feel like you're in that imaginary world, once you've trained at those places you can see training photos and videos and imagine actually being there. Does anyone else get that visual feeling looking at places you been to? Or am I just crazy? Both?
Anyways, walking through those doors felt like walking into your aunts and uncles house, you're visiting family and that place is now your home until you leave. It was great meeting everyone there that I'd already been talking to online, having tagged Mr. Keith on the updates of my ear infection much of the Crash Family were following. I had shown up early before the adult class started, the kids class in about halfway through and while talking with people around the front desk I was spotted from across the gym by Mr. Keith, he immediately came over to great me and see how I was doing. As I said he's a great man, all through the week he looked out for me, making sure that I knew that if I ever needed anything he would be there and giving drives whenever he could. He showed genuine care and concern over my being sick, I was very much made to feel like family, thank you Sir, you're awesome!
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| Good times having a private class with Prof. Keith Owen |
The class was fun to watch, to see everyone working on the techniques shown and see it from an outside perspective of everyone doing their reps or troubleshooting the shown technique rather than being in there and only concerning myself and my partner, like seeing the entire battle field instead of the one small battle. The class was about half a dozen people or so of various skill levels and sizes, no longer was I in the 'Hall of Giants' but still, given Mr. Keith's ability to nail the small details I knew if I got on the mats I'd have my hands full. Everyone was nice, with most people taking the chance to introduce themselves and briefly chat with me before class or quickly between drills as they grabbed a drink of water. It helped feel even more welcome and wished I could train, but as the class went on I was glad I wasn't on the mats, which for people that know me that speaks volumes for how I felt. I didn't stay the entire time, leaving early during their rolling session, because I was feeling worse as the evening went on, how little did I know how bad I was about to get.
As told in the previous post I got more sick, with both ears being swollen now, and Wednesday started out as the worst day ever, the pain was so incredibly bad I couldn't eat and hadn't gotten any sleep that night. Back to the hospital I went. I even became worried and depressed that the entire week would be lost. With new medication, and some awesome painkillers, the day made a drastic turn for the better and I gained a new outlook and hope of training. I was starting to feel better so I made it to class to watch again, only this time I was invited to come sit on the mats and watch amongst the class. I can't tell you how good that feels, being on the mats and watching class felt like their was nothing wrong with me, it was a statement, 'you're one of us, you deserve to be on the mats' and almost made me forget the pain and problems with the hearing loss. Showing up to class, if only to watch definitely has healing powers as well as learning benefits. For one you don't go crazy or get depressed just sitting at home, or in my case a hotel room, with nothing to do. Being there watching class keeps the mind sharp, and really that the most important weapon, a sharp mind. So for all those injured and sitting out, drop by and watch, it's way better than whatever is on TV. Unless you're sick and need rest, in which case keep everyone else healthy and stay home and get your jiu-jitsu fix online. Showing up definitely made me feel better, despite not being able to train, and having feeling better it renewed the determination to be able to train before leaving. It would all rest on how I would felt in the morning.
The night's sleep proved to be effective, Thursday I woke up feeling well enough to try training, but no rolling, and with that happy feeling, I decided to go on an adventure. To this point all my adventures in Meridian/Boise, with the exception of the drugged up Dairy Queen trip and making it the gym for the first time, were not happy adventures. They consisted of finding the hospital, finding the pharmacy, going on a hunt in the middle of the night for over the counter medication in hopes it work, those aren't fun adventures and I wanted to have at least one before leaving. Before class that night I would need to go shopping and pick up some headgear to protect my ears. Now I could have called Mr. Keith and asked for a ride to the sports store and be done easy as that, but using the transit system and getting around town on my own is something I pride myself on being able to do, it's like each city is a maze and I gladly accept the challenge. Plus, that's the adventure, so unless he was going let me drive, which would be bad for all of us, getting a ride would ruin the fun. So I ventured out to Boise to the sports store, made my way around town had my adventure of navigating and made it back in time to rest up before attending that nights class. Oh, and I was able to eat again finally so I had an awesome giant burger at the 50's café next to the hotel, best day so far already!
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| I didn't have a pic of the awesome burger so I decided to post this charming picture my new headgear again, you're welcome. |
The afternoon nap, and probably the meds, had me moving slower than usual. I just made in the door as class was starting, I quickly walk through the doors, aiming towards the change rooms when I pass the mats, and there is the class, well over a dozen of them, most of them way bigger than the previous class I had watched, all in no-gi attire. Well tonight was going to be interesting! I had the pleasure of working with the biggest guy there, he was strong and moved with a purpose, I was very glad I wouldn't be rolling that night. It was so fun to get back into class and train and get reps in. All truth told, missing class wouldn't bug me as much if this were all to happen while at home. For instance, I've been out of training all this week because I'm still dealing with the last bit of this ear infection and although I'm feeling down not being able to train it's not bugging me as much as I was on the road. The whole purpose of the trip was to train and with that gone the trip seemed wasted, at least at home there's always the feeling of 'well there's always tomorrow'. The class went well with the headgear, I didn't experience too much discomfort and apart from the end of rolling I was able to partake in the whole class. With being sick and no-gi not being my strong suit, the combination was a recipe for injury so I was more than happy to watch the class roll from sidelines. Having been able to attend the class and still feel ok by the end of it made me feel good about training the rest of the week and maybe even the possibility to roll.
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| Watching class and learning lots! |
Friday I had the pleasure of having a private class with 'The Rhino'. It was a great chance to hammer down some pointers for closing some gaps in my game. As really everyone should I'm always reflecting on how I get caught and where my weak points are, which let's face it, there are many at this early point in my jiu-jitsu life, after all I'm still only a blue belt. It was an hour well spent, so many details shown to me that really changed my way of looking at open guard and defending being passed, the core of the game really. After the private class I was really looking forward to rolling and being able to try some of the techniques and concepts, and Saturday was an open mat class so I would have ample chance for just that. Or so I thought. I showed up to the open mat class, which had a good turn out, looking forward to finally roll. I didn't know how long I'd be able to hold out but I was looking to roll light and work on some of the techniques from the private class, the senior students had other plans. I don't know if they were just in a higher gear than me that day or what but I felt like I was being danced around and played with the entire time I rolled. During the private class I was told working from the bottom is like practicing to be a ball, well this ball got flattened. As I was rolling Mr. Keith called out to me "how's it going?" to which I replied "I'm trying those things you showed me but they're not working!" "Just keep at it!" and I did, with little success. But that's ok, it's all part of the learning process. I don't know if I was in a more weakened state than I thought but even just trying to hip escape while training seemed like a lot more work. I was burnt out after just 3 rolls and sat out the rest of the time. The higher elevation of Idaho did play a factor into it, being over 2000 ft. higher up than usual does have an effect on your body. I was out of breath way easier and it took a long time to get it back, I felt weak. After that open mat session I now know why the athletes train at high elevations, well I knew before but now I know first hand. All and all it was a good last class, I was happy to get some rolling in before leaving.
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| Last class of my trip, great bunch of people right there! |
And there you have it, an overall great trip to three awesome places. I look forward to returning to them all again some day and in mean the time I really look forward to getting back on the mats at home to work on the all the new knowledge I gained while traveling. To everyone who I met along the way, thank you for the experiences, Oss!
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