Week 33 - Lengthening The Line

A different kind of week this one.  I watched my weight and what I ate, but, not with the intense scrutiny that I have applied in recent memory, or indeed since February.  To be honest, I am somewhat rudderless as I seek out a new direction with regards to what weight I want to maintain and how I maintain it.  I also figure that two relaxed weeks are probably ok.  The fact that we are moving house, which has left our lives in a special kind of chaos has let me just no sweat the small stuff for this week at least.  I will have the capacity to refocus on things very soon and am looking forward to it.

So, I am going to be brave again and post links to the footage of my fight.  It was taken by my coach's wife and she's done a fantastic job with her phone, capturing great images of the highlights that I remember and plenty that I don't.  By way of brief commentary.  The first round is where I think my opponent won the fight on the judges scorecard.  He held dominant positions on the ground and had more scoring strikes with very good counter punching.  Just for everyone's info, he hit like a truck.  He was significantly more muscular and stronger than me as will be evident where he ragdolls me part way through that first round.  The highlight for me being in the dying seconds of the round where I reverse the position on the ground and end up in a beautiful side control.......Just as the end of the round sounds.  Yay me!

The second round was more interesting from my perspective in so much as I landed a few strikes of my own, as well as wore some big ones I will add.  I'd argue that I got the best punch in the fight around the 50 second mark right before it went to the ground again.  I finished the round off in a position to submit, but again, through time running out and an incomplete technique the round ends before the submission is finished!  My comment on both rounds would be, I really needed 5 minute rounds.  My cardio was better and I think I might have come away with the cash so to speak if they had been.  Having said that, they weren't and I knew that going in.  In my mind, the better performer won the fight and I am thrilled with having had the opportunity to compete against him, having taken to the full distance a man who was bigger, stronger and half my age, as well as with a number of things about my own performance.

I'm not sure how long I will leave the videos up.  Maybe for a couple of weeks because a few people have asked to see them.  So here they are...

NSWAMMA - 08-09-2013 - Round 1

NSWAMMA - 08-09-2013 - Round 2

Reflecting on the footage, but, more importantly the thought processes during and since the event, I found my mind turning back to the book I recently read and referred to in an earlier post - Zen in the Martial Arts.  In it there is a chapter called "Lengthen Your Line", that discusses the author's frustration at being soundly beaten in a competitive sparring session by a more skilled opponent.  I remember back to a similar session where I was completely outdone by one of my training partners in a similar fashion.  I am pleased to report that the concepts in this chapter reflect a principle that I already apply to my training.

In the book the author's coach\master at the time counselled him after the session, enquiring initially as to why he was so frustrated.  Upon learning the reason was that he had been outmatched by his opponent, the teacher drew a chalk line on the floor representing the skill level of the opponent.  He then asked the author what he could do about shortening the line in order to be more competitive.  They went back and forth for a bit with suggestions until the teacher drew a second line on the floor, this one longer than the first.  He went on to give a very wise and gentle lesson to the author extolling the virtue of lengthening one's own line, rather than attempting to shorten that of others.  He used the following words:

"It is always better to improve and strengthen your own line or knowledge than to try and cut your opponent's line"

I couldn't agree more.  Just as I went back and increased my resolve and effort towards improving the areas of my competitive martial arts that were exposed in training previously, I intend to go back to the mats and focus even more on those things in my fight that either allowed my opponent to gain an advantage because of my lack of skill, or indeed could have won me the match had I been more proficient.  It so happens that half of that equation is still the area that I have been working on since the last time I tried to lengthen my line.  However, I am pleased to say that, whilst I still have a long way to go, I feel like I have added a couple of centimetres to it over the past few months.  I look forward to continuing to work hard in that fashion.