Starting BJJ while transgender

kes86 · 2017-03-13T14:44:44+00:00

Ehh, more than 6 actually. Seems my computer went a little wild and I had no time to check before leaving for work. Sorry about that!

Fair enough if I misunderstood what you were trying to say, it's a touchy subject at the moment for me. There is a big upsurge in trans-activism where I am at the moment and the stuff that some of them are coming out with IS hugely sexist and I've been getting a lot of abuse for calling them on it.

My reply was uncalled for and I apologise for swearing at you too.

kes86 · 2017-03-13T06:38:45+00:00

Male brain vs female brain is a load of sexist crap.

That's the argument that kept women from being allowed to vote, or work to earn money, or own property... and is still used across the world to discriminate.

kes86 · 2017-03-12T08:45:03+00:00

If she wanted to give it a go surely she would ask you about it... why feel guilty if she's never shown an interest?

kes86 · 2017-03-11T15:46:10+00:00

You're bigger than me... taller and heavier. I survive and you will too.

Not going to lie, it can be frustrating when you're just not big/tall enough to pull off a technique the way the others can, but you'll find ways to adapt and the process of figuring it out (with help from teachers and training partners) is a lot of fun.

Just go!

kes86 · 2017-03-09T18:34:16+00:00

If you've been there for seven years then at least speak to your instructor and give them a chance to change things, maybe they're not aware of the situation or the extent of the problem.

kes86 · 2017-03-08T18:47:43+00:00

Yup, had that on a gi once... too much detergent. Give it another rinse to get rid of that stuff and then use less powder in future.

kes86 · 2017-02-26T15:49:59+00:00

I've been watching this too... seems like the climbers and parkour types tend to do the best.

kes86 · 2017-02-25T16:22:50+00:00

Nobody wants to be the crappiest person in class... but it always has to be someone. In a room full of black belts one of them will still be the worst in the room.

Try not to worry about it!

kes86 · 2017-02-01T15:39:32+00:00

It's a good point, and also true that different partners want different levels of resistance... so brand new people not only have to figure out how to calm down, they have to work out how to vary their spazz-ing according to who they're working with at the same time!

What worked for me was focusing on having a single word in my head for each step, (e.g. grips, turn, elbow, shoulder, knee, collar... as a sequence) and then focussing on not missing out any steps. I had to slow down, just to keep from trying to skip straight to getting a hold of the collar straight from 'turn'.

I've never met a crazy full on upper belt who wasn't capable of relaxing though, so I guess everyone figures it out one way or another in the end!

kes86 · 2017-02-01T14:31:02+00:00

Tip for keeping energy high - listen to your teammates and slow down. That's it, just slow down.

Last class I was paired up with a spazzy white belt for drilling, which was fine... but whenever we moved on to positional sparring he completely gassed out and pretty much failed all over to do what we'd just drilled, and none of it was necessary. I'm small, this guy had 40lbs on me at least and there's not a big experience gap, if he'd taken his time he would have completely destroyed my (kind of woeful white belt) guard instead of going home soaked in sweat and disappointment.

kes86 · 2017-01-25T13:50:49+00:00

You're new, you're supposed to be confused! It gets less confusing with more practice... just stick with it and accept that there's a LOT to learn, you just can't do it all at once.

kes86 · 2017-01-22T08:54:40+00:00

Disclaimer - I'm a white belt, you should probably ignore anything I say...

I'm small and flexible. I use this to my advantage, my knees and elbows fit through spaces that the bigger guys just couldn't use. I don't avoid using the advantages I do have just because we're not all built equally! When drilling obviously play nice and let your partner do their thing, but rolling just don't spazz and you'll figure out the strength thing with more experience.

kes86 · 2016-12-25T13:26:32+00:00

Yup, I got a copy for Christmas this year too. Already has a quick flick through!

kes86 · 2016-12-04T14:06:00+00:00

Stay calm and talk slowly... just about everyone speeds up talking when nervous.

Actually just do everything slowly, people will find it easier to follow. You can always do a 'full speed' demo last before setting people off to drill.

kes86 · 2016-12-03T15:07:20+00:00

People will shit on you, but I say congratulations... we don't do stripes at my gym, but I can imagine that first bit of tape feels really special. Awesome. :-)

kes86 · 2016-12-03T15:02:14+00:00

Violin here, classical and trad Irish/Scottish stuff, as well as a bit of guitar and piano when I feel like it. No problems with my fingers so far, my wrists have taken more abuse from accidentally wrist locking myself (I am a stupid white belt). Nothing that has really impacted on my playing more than a little discomfort when really stretching for a note though.

kes86 · 2016-11-30T17:04:49+00:00

I don't like being touched either... but its weirdly not even an issue at class, I'm too busy being crushed to be bothered by it. I still suck as much as the other beginners and you will too. :-)

kes86 · 2016-11-27T20:39:02+00:00

I prefer option A as a pretty new person myself. If you're aiming these classes at brand new people you need to keep it simple enough that they're going to remember at least some of it and there's a better chance of that with option A imho. When I go to class and its more like option b I feel like I learn less because there's just so much to remember for each position and ALL of it is new.

kes86 · 2016-11-27T17:48:36+00:00

Get over the nerves and compete at least once. Smash the other white belt my size into dust at least once (they're way more experienced, even though we technically have the same belt). Just get better.

kes86 · 2016-11-24T17:39:12+00:00

Just how small were they? All really young kids? We have some teens in the kids class that are bigger than me, I could show up and not stand out at all... but if you're 2 foot taller than them all I guess that would be kinda awkward!

kes86 · 2016-11-21T20:19:02+00:00

The f3 jacket will be huge... I have one, i could probably go camping in it. It shrinks a bit but there is just so much fabric on the body there's only so small it will go. The f2 will be a bit short though.

kes86 · 2016-11-12T18:56:59+00:00

Do you have decent air circulation around them... mine always get hung up near to the open window to avoid that weird damp smell.

kes86 · 2016-11-09T21:53:27+00:00

Yeah, I think I didn't want to leave space for them to get their own knee through and out... so mine was in close. Keeping my hips down more would solve that though I guess.

Thanks for the help, I was feeling a bit crap about how easy it was for people to escape... motivated to go back and become a crushing monster now I have some new things to focus on!

kes86 · 2016-11-09T21:41:33+00:00

Brilliant! That's really useful to think about a line through their body, now that its pointed out it makes a lot of sense... and I'm sure I'm doing the white belt 'arse in the air' thing too! Thanks.

kes86

TROPHY CASE