6 hours of fun

Yesterday, Albert had a special request; he wanted to hold a 6 hour open-mat session and wanted to do BJJ, CMD and hang out with the fellas from the gym. He wanted this instead of a traditional stag party and as it's his birthday today too, it was easy for me to make it happen. I didn't know what to get him for his birthday and he already knew what he wanted.

In my memory it was the longest, continual training session ever conducted at the gym. Not everyone trained or sparred for the entire 6 hours obviously but some came pretty close. There were marathon sparring sessions lasting up to 40 minutes, done almost back to back and that was impressive in itself. No doubt most of the fellas are feeling a little more than tired today.


This enthusiasm goes to show one thing, the gym is a tight knit community, attracting people from near and far, they do what they love and fitness and stamina-wise, they don't have any problems (obviously) so its just a matter of skill and mat-time (which they're dolloping on in heaps).


With the recent promotions in the BJJ program there are 3 new blue belts who are starting to grow into their new belts and it's a great thing to watch and be part of their progress. They're still a little nervous and jittery now but in a few month's time - watch out! I'm impressed by Rizan's "never-die" attitude, Patrick's uber flexible shoulders and Weeli's grit and determination to get a submission... simply awesome to watch them roll.
I also had a chance to conduct my CMD Focus Session with one of my team member and it went pretty well. The concepts helped the team member clarify and re-align the direction of training. I find that by just having a conversation with my CMD team members, they can "see" what they need to do in order to make the next advancement.

Of course, the combination of mat time and setting a mental strategy works best for individual success and that's what I'm after. I'm happy with their progress and the fact that each person on the team is willingly and openly helping other members on the team. We're going to have so much fun this year I'm pretty stoked about training the rest of this year.

Next week John Will rolls into KL for his 2nd visit and I'm looking forwards to his seminars. John is a fantastic, world-class coach and always puts his techniques and ideas across to all audiences. I'll be there to soak up his knowledge. Remember to bring your note books!

See you on the mats.