The last month has been a great experience for me in a lot of ways.  First off, a moved a bit out of my comfort zone… I have been taking my son to Muay Thai classes, in addition to our Judo training for a few months.  But I decided to try and take him to an MMA gym.  Not only that, I decided to join in.

What did I learn?

Well, for starters, it’s fun as hell to throw people who have not had to deal with Judo around the room.  I have commented for some time now that I am surprised not to see more Judo used in the UFC and similar MMA organizations.

But there was another lesson to be learned.  Although Hidden Valley, where I train teaches both Judo and Jiu Jitsu, I think I had not focused enough on my jiu jitsu game.  I had gotten good at throws, and relied on my strength and size on the ground rather than my technique.

The result was, that when I was finished throwing people in the MMA class, I got my trash kicked by a good Jiu Jitsu fighter who arm barred me every few seconds.  But all this was great.  It showed me how far I had really come with my throws, and how far I still needed to go with my ground game.  It also showed me that each and every school has a ton that I can learn from them.

I walked into class last night, and said, “I need help.  I really don’t feel like getting my ass kicked by a Jits guy anymore.”  Of course, the response was pretty much what I knew it would be.  My Sensei has been telling me for quite some time not to rely on my “Squishy Waza”, and to work on my technique.  It appears that I just needed a bit of a wakeup call to really listen.

But I think this tells me a lot more than just: My throws are getting pretty good, my ground game needs a lot of work.  It has also taught me that we need to listen to our Sensei’s closer, even when we feel like, “It’s working, so why should I change?”  It might be working in that situation, but it’s still wrong.

Also, I have learned to really respect all of the disciplines.  If I fight someone who knows nothing about Judo, they are in trouble.  If I don’t hone my jujitsu, I am in trouble.  But kicks, strikes, elbows, knees, Karate, Muay Thai, etc.  There is value in all of these.  I will be tightening my game, keeping my arms in better to avoid arm bars, etc.

Also, there is a ton to be learned wherever you train, if you are humble enough to listen.  I will be listening much closer to my Sensei in Judo, and I will also be learning from the holes in my game as I train at the MMA gym.

This whole experience has really lit a fire under me to help drive me to the next level.

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