23/06/2016 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Leuven 2016 | Open Mat

Class #738
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Sportoase Leuven), Open Mat, Leuven, Belgium, 23/06/2016

I was very careful about pacing myself over the course of the camp. My plan was to avoid any sparring until towards the end of the week, to make sure I didn't pick up any knocks that might stop me training properly in the classes. By Thursday, I had done most of the classes I was particularly interested in, so decided I could finally begin sparring.

My initial plan was to do a kind of 'belt ladder', starting with white belts and progressing up to black. However, I didn't have much time today, so only got to blue belt. Still, it was good fun. I started off with Marthe, one of the many cool Germans in attendance. Later on, I would have a long chat with her and one of her team mates, Gina: hopefully I can visit them at their school in Hamburg next year. There is a massive German contingent at BJJ Globetrotter camps, with other cool people like Carmen over in Berlin. I've been wanting to do a proper trip around Germany for ages anyway, so this is a good excuse. With all the depressing Brexit nonsense, I can hopefully get myself a German passport too (via my German mother). Britain may be foolish enough to leave the EU, but that doesn't mean I have to. ;)

I also got in a roll with a blue belt, Lars, who I'd chatted to earlier at a meal organised through the camp. He is considerably larger than me, but didn't use lots of strength in our roll. I was surprised to get a pressing armbar from mount, belly down. I didn't think that was viable, but it popped up as I went to the super high mount I like, isolating the arm. Of course, he wasn't going very hard, but still, that's an attack I could try adding in to the stuff I normally try from there.