I had my 3rd class with our visiting Black Belt from Oklahoma, Rafael Lovato Jr, tonight. In the presence of good friends at Toronto BJJ we had another opportunity to get to understand why he has one of the slickest games in the business.

A real focus are drills. Flow drills. He stresses this alot. Drills which help your reaction time in many situations. I will admit to not drilling enough. And I really should. These are great drills that are constant and will not only help your reaction time as I said but the important added benefit is you get 'flow' which is another aspect of Jiu Jitsu many of us chase. It's that Harlem Globetrotter thing we've talked about right? Rafael's drills will help any player learn how to catch underhooks, armbars or omoplata's with much more deadly effects. To make another comparison to my DJ'ing days I spent hours practicing scratches so as to get really good at scratching and to have a skill that not every other DJ had. The same here. The same reflection. Put the time in working drilling the finer details and you know your game is going to be sharper hopefully than the other guy. I said it before after Rafael's first visit that I would start doing more. This was another wake up call to their importance and to make more of an effort.

Rafael also has another cool trait. He likes his students to be in unison. When he asks if you are having fun or need more time to learn the specific it is more encouraging when the class responds as 1 big voice than a few students here and there mumbling yes. It's an energy check. (Something I do with my Scouts is out of the bloue shout 'ENERGY CHECK' and each scouts yells back as 1 'WE LOVE THIS STUFF' - it's kind of the same idea.

As I hoped he went into some Spider Guard detail PLUS (because I asked him for some advice on passing open guard) he showed the class a rule which I had never known about on how to control the legs and now I think passing the open guard will be much more effective. All thanks to a few simple tips.

Unfortunately I was not able to take any NO GI classes as I just don't trust my shoulder 100% yet and I have only been able to manage 1 hour. 2 hours and my shoulder is burning and I am getting tired of having bad sleeps now from the shoulder so I even took 1 day off during the week in answer to shooting pains I was feeling but the next day I benefited from that decision. I only did an hour tonight partly because the heat was wild, my GI was ringing wet after 1 hour and also the drills are tiring on the area I am trying to heal.

We really have learned alot this week. Plus my team mates have got sick jiu jitsu. I am getting really worked. Been submitted alot and am having a hard time putting guys away. But the great thing is you just go back the following day and work on correcting the mistakes and sharpening up. But the level is very good at the academy.

I had the opportunity to roll with Rafael my first night down. But my level was pretty in effective. He got me very last roll and I was already done. I was a bit disheartened afterwards about my calibre compared to his and that I really didn't offer anything offensively (both with technique of skill) until I caught myself on and was happy with the fact that - I got to roll with a legend of the sport. Sure he smothered me in the same way I would work a 100lb white belt who was having their first class...but I got to feel how solid and deadly the guys mount is...and he is a 2nd degree Black Belt too ;)

...talking about belts...my blue belt is getting that worn vintage look which I am kinda liking too...the longer I stay with it the more I enjoy it. I am in no rush to go to the next level. I'm really enjoying my journey.

Toronto has been incredibly humid. The heat is easy enough to deal with but it is the thick thick air that makes it less comfortable. In the Dojo your GI is soaked within 10 minutes and the more students there are the hotter it gets. But this is why I love my Reevo GI. It's super light and by far the best GI to roll in during this season. Double weave is still heavy and god love you if you have a heavy golden weave. It's really time for double fisting gatorades.

I still have 2 classes left with Rafael before he takes off. I'll try the 2 hour class tomorrow and also go to his last one on Saturday. I will get a group picture on Saturday. I was going to do a private but I don't see the time available now before he goes and I just got paid today..oh well next time...I bought a T Shirt instead ;)

Don't forget the Toronto Jiu Jitsu Classic is coming up within weeks so make sure you register. I look forward to that alot because it is going to be another opportunity to experience competition and see where my game is at.

Just wanted to shout out to Rafael and say everybody at Toronto BJJ is having such a great time learning and training with you. It's been a solid week and I personally have gained some real fundamentals that I hope are going to really help my game. Thanks bro! Oss!

...I hope you are training hard in matland!

Scott

• Heat waves and new waves (2010-07-10)
• Eu estou pronto (2010-07-01)
• Reintegration into fighting (2010-06-24)
• Bench boredom (2010-06-22)
• Flexibility in life (2010-06-13)
• Jiu Jitsu 'Snakes and Ladders' (2010-06-11)
• Rest is training (2010-05-21)
• Rolling under a full moon (2010-04-29)
• The Road to Copa - 3 weeks left (2010-04-06)
• Team Training (2010-03-29)