Getting Some Bad Assery in DC

I arrived in DC Thursday Sept. 9 around 9pm to a house full of professional athletes. I'm on a mission to work not on my jiu jitsu technique, that is secondary. I'm here to overcome my extreme fear of competing, not only in jiu jitsu but also competing in Olympic weightlifting.

I am at Master Lloyd Irvin's! Yep, me off all people. I jumped at the opportunity after Master Lloyd himself invited me to the Jungle during a conversation about performance anxiety. Like many others my anxiety gives me an upset stomach and the occasional vomiting. But it gets much worse than that. All the weeks of training hard, all the positive self talk, all the positive everything goes out the door and I turn into a blubbering idiot full of self doubt and apprehension. I know what I am supposed to do and I know all the techniques but I cannot get beyond my fear.

I asked my own coach what he thought about me going to Master Lloyd's and he didn't hesitate to encourage me by saying 'GO'. Wow, what a great coach!

So far what I've been submerged in is total and complete badassness! Here there is no room for the term 'I can't' no place for anything but belief that anyone, yes, anyone can achieve their goals. All of the athletes are more than highly accomplished title winners or medal earners. They embody the Nike commercial - Just Do It and Honey Badgers Don't Give A Fuck- that's Mike 'The Hulk' Easton's own saying. He's smiling all the time and very polite.

Nine people and myself occupy the home known as the 'Jungle'. I am lucky enough to have been given a room to myself right across from the bathroom, which I quickly inspected and cleaned.

And, the Jungle it is! Rowdiness at all times of the day except after a hard session of training when everyone naps. The TV and video games are playing simultaneously while computers are ablaze with facebook, online courses and videos of jiu jitsu and boxing for studying purposes.

Oh, dear God, what have I walked into?
Each person is wonderful and entertaining in his or her own way and the conversations are hilarious! A young man taking a full dose of Viagra is the best so far. That's all the detail I want to give.

Friday I missed training but since my knee had been bothering me it was okay. I had time to get to the grocery and unpack everything.

Saturday I was up for anything. It started with 6am strength and conditioning that was fantastic, I was dying and smiling at the same time. Then, back home to eat and sleep and back to the gym for 3 hours of no gi training. And, I'm alive to type this. I have all my fingers and toes and sore as hell and wonder how many buses ran over me while I was asleep.

To boot I have not trained no gi in over a year and I took 10 months off training BJJ to focus on Olympic weight lifting. So, I was scared shitless. I was in a room full of professionals. I lived through the 3 hours and felt great, it was amazing. Even after the 50 push ups I had to do for saying 'I Can't' thank you very much J.T. Torres. Not to mention the other additional 50 push ups I had to do for putting my hands on the mat while in the guard and another 20 for saying a secret word at the Jungle.

All in all, I'm nervous about training tomorrow but determined to work on my mental roadblocks that keep me from performing well under the pressures of competition. On a mission to get some badassery!

After an hour of conversation about politics, honey badgers and not giving a fuck with Mushin Corbbrey and watching some bad ass videos of fights it's been a very fulfilling and restful day.

Check back tomorrow for more updates and Getting Some Bad Assery in DC. Who knows, there may be some gun powder in my breakfast!