Well I just found out that the chick I bounced hit another drunk driver and rolled her car on the way home. Apparently she is fine but the other driver is not.
So sad. So unnecessary. Stupid selfish drunks piss me off.
I guess you’re lucky you don’t see more of that.
We do, but refusing a ride and driving home against the advice of the bouncer is probably the most common way people get put on the banned list. Repeat offenders get banned permanently, as do egregious offenders. If we didn’t actively refuse service to the people we know behave that way it would be extremely common.
In reality, it IS extremely common, because its not like those people don’t drink and drive just because they get banned from our little dive bar.
More often than not, rides can be arranged. Its a small bar in a small town. Everyone knows each other. That’s what makes it so frustrating when people refuse it for the most selfish of reasons. Gee, what a HUGE hassle it would have been for this bitch to come back and get her car the next day. Now its totaled and another person has serious injuries. A $20 cab ride probably seems like a better choice to her now.
She’ll probably be on social media today, bitching about the type of man she attracts.
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Maybe focus on the back rub instead.
Oh I detest that crap!
I’ve a 26 yo son whom I’ve often told that if he’s ever stupid enough to drive drunk, he better pray the cops catch him before I do. Have pounded it into his head about it wouldn’t be just his life at risk, but that of innocents, and I provide examples related to people he’d know, like a mother and child…
Thankfully he’s listened and seems to detest it as much as I do.
Anyway, that bitch needs to get a grip.
If I was in your position I’d be sooo aggravated about that shit constantly.
I try not to spend too much time worrying about things that are not under my control. I’ve had many more successes than failures when it comes to talking people into better decisions during my shifts.
Not everyone will be receptive to reason, and that’s something I can’t control. I can only do my best to produce good outcomes.
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I admire your attitude & self-control.
My temper would get the best of me so I’d never make a good bouncer.
Thanks, although I could definitely work a little harder on improving the latter.
Monday 8/14/17
BJJ 120 min
The same hard-ass brown belt from the NH gym made the trip to teach us for the second Monday in a row. We skipped takedowns and went right into drilling some side control attacks.
Paper cutter choke
Same basic choke, but you spin around their head. Unsure of term
This guy didn’t like what he saw, so he made us drill more. I only got one roll in with a purple belt visiting from another school. We started before they set the timer, so it was probably a 7 or 8 min roll. I got side control to start but he managed to escape and get the sweep, somehow ending up in my side control. I defended his attacks and he took mount. I was able to trap and roll, then passed his guard. I spent the last 4 min on top, trying to get something going but having problems. 8 min draw.
We rolled again but slowed it down so he could show me some better options than the poorly-executed attacks I was attempting from Russian Mount. Cool guy, as are just about everyone I’ve met in BJJ circles so far.
I’m starting to get more confident in my escapes, as well as achieving and holding positional domination. That said, there’s lots left to learn - and I mean LOTS - and I mustn’t fall into the trap of mistaking my sheer size and considerable strength advantage for competence.
I’d bet most of us need work on it 
Yepper, I’d think most guys in BJJ realize that size + strength is not equal to competence.
BTW, even though it’d be a little fun, I’ve decided to not actually learn BJJ. The risks outweigh potential benefits for me.
However, I do appreciate you’re discussing it with me, and intend to follow this thread.
Peace 
No problem. BJJ is just another fringe activity that is totally optional in life. Glad to have you along.
Thursday 8/18/17
BJJ 90 min
Black and brown belts keep falling out of the sky to teach our classes while our instructor is out. The guy we had tonight was my instructor’s very first instructor, and we did things his way today. That meant no warm-ups and right into drilling.
We did a grip series from the guard. I should have logged last night, but let’s see what I can remember Friday morning.
- Left sleeve grip.
- Fast armbar
- Keep left hand on sleeve, grab collar with right
- Both hands on sleeve, hip up and push hand over right shoulder
- Both hands on sleeve, hip up and push hand over left shoulder, keeping grip with my right hand, underhook with my left hand, cable grip, shift to side.
- Omaplata
- Failed fast armbar to flower sweep
- Failed Omaplata to Omaplata sweep
Whew. It was a lot of stuff. Then we rolled.
I finally got to roll with the big husky guy for the first time in a few months. He’s a two stripe white belt, 10 years younger than me and a husky but strong 260 lbs. I want to tap this guy sooo bad! I passed his guard and took side control, couldn’t get anything going. He managed to roll me and I got to work from bottom, defending all of his attacks. Two walruses going at it, 5 min draw.
Second roll was with the Judoka brown/BJJ one stripe. We just kinda fucked around with some Judo stuff he showed me, and did some flow rolling.
Third roll was with that guy’s wife, who is a Judo black belt and a two stripe BJJ white belt. She’s definitely more skilled than I am, and I let her go to work with some baseball bat chokes before I rolled her and got her in an Americana. Then I hopped into mount and let her feel a little pressure, but not too much. I wasn’t trying to be a dick!
I also decided to hang up my security shirt and put my two weeks in at the bar. I’ve got a busy September and beyond, and the decision really boiled down to time management. I’ll probably pick up a shift at some point in the future, but for now I’m out of the rotation and they’ll be looking for a new guy to come on staff.
Try to have some good stories to relate in the next 2 weeks.
@biker We’ll see. They’ve already got a new backup on staff. I don’t think he’ll last though. Nice guy, not so sure how he’ll do when things get chippy. I wish him the best though!
Friday 8/18/17
BJJ 90 min
Open mat at the four-strip brown belt’s house. Only I showed up, so I got another private lesson. I’m going gift shopping tomorrow. This is like $100 an hour-level instruction that this dude’s just handing out.
First we worked side control escapes and he helped me with some fundamentals. Make the frame. Bridge with hips and make the space. Hip out. Head to their knee. Hip in, get the inside knee into their body. Guard. Solid gold.
Next we worked the side control stages, and he showed me a BOSU ball drill I can do at home (once I buy a BOSU ball).
We got a lot of rolls in. I’ll be lucky if I ever get a tap on him, but it is a joy to train with this man.
Happy weekend everyone!
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Wow, private sessions and getting trained from a variety of similar high level coaches is such a bonus for you! Have you still continued to strength train or is BJJ enough of a workout for you these days?
Oh absolutely. We’re all pulling for our instructor to heal up as quickly as he can, but the rotation of top guys from the area has been pretty great. It really speaks to the character of the community.
No to both.
Injuries and sore shoulders have more or less kept me away from heavy lifting, but being sore and bruised most of the time plays a part too. I’m going through a breakup too, and the months preceding that weren’t exactly ideal for optimal training either. The simple truth is that I could have been doing some kind of lifting, but it slid off of my list of priorities for a while.
I’m single and my body is feeling better than it has in months, so I’ll be making time to get back under the bar soon. I really want to find a way to get all of the BJJ I can in but still get at least two days of lifting in as well.
That’s partly why I quit bouncing. I love that job but I can get thrown off for days when I stay up so late.
Anyway, thanks for following along!
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Sunday 8/20/17
BJJ 105 min
Open mat at the four stripe brown belt’s house. The same two white belts from his school showed up. We did some drills, working on the around-the-world side control series he showed me on the BOSU ball last week, but with partners.
Then we rolled a bunch. I tore through the male white belt pretty fast on the first go, getting him in an Americana in about 5 seconds. Next roll I gave him side control to work my escapes, which failed. He took mount and I rolled him right after, passed his guard and landed right back in side control. I tried working a choke on him but eventually went back to the armlock for another tap.
I didn’t roll with the other white belt, who is female. We did some drilling together though.
I got a lot of rolls in with the brown belt. He kept working the same thing - take the back and then lapel choke. He was getting everyone with it but I made a pretty good escape and re-took side control, which was probably the best thing I’ve pulled off against this guy. Otherwise he choked the shit out of me!
Great stuff for a Sunday morning!
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Monday 8/21/17
BJJ 90 min
Our supply of black and brown belts dried up today, so the senior blue belt taught class. He did well with his instruction style, but 8 techniques in one day is a bit much. At least it is for this white belt. It was still a good class, and this guy has taught me plenty already just rolling and drilling with him. Let’s see what I can recall.
Side control escapes
Bridge out with frame in hip and neck, knee in.
Bridge out with frame on hip but not in neck, knee in.
Bridge out with underhooks, knee in
Bride out without underhooks, knee in
Two other escapes I can’t seem to recall right now.
Pencil escape. This one worked well for me, and of course I remember all of it. Hip out, make space, grab the bicep, get your elbow pointed towards the ground, other arm reaches to opposite-side hip and grabs the belt, pants, whatever you can grip. Hip away from them until their grip breaks, then hip yourself away from them until you’re basically in a straight line. Then you roll them and take N/S side control. Or something close to that.
Attacks from turtle
Two different chokes, one of which was the crucifix, the other was a one-handed lapel choke.
Rolling was brief. I did a roll with the Judoka brown belt/BJJ one-striper. This guy is a good match for me, definitely more skilled overall but still a big, strong, athletic dude at around 6’ and 220. We kinda flow rolled kinda went at it but I held side control for the whole match while he worked his escapes, which failed. I got figure 4 armlock on him, but I think he kinda gave it to me. Maybe he was tired. Otherwise this match was mostly about him trying to escape my side control and me trying to keep it. I love rolling with this guy.
Time for a BJJ screed.
I’m becoming a side control problem for my smaller training partners, which is everyone. I’m big to begin with, and I’m learning how to keep pressure on while changing my position to counter their escapes. This is not pleasant at all for the person on bottom, but I’m hardly the only guy with good side control pressure. Luckily everyone I train with has been a good sport about it. I’m learning to hold back a bit too, which I did today. I just tried to match his strength/skill with the right amount of pressure, which wasn’t all of the pressure I could bring. It worked, insomuch as I didn’t get tapped and I didn’t goon him with everything I had. Dialing back my strength/size advantage is definitely a skill I need to develop. On the other side of the coin, I can totally go 100% with some of the upper belts. The former is important for social reasons AND for skill development, the latter is important for testing my skill when I’m not holding back.
People still seem to be eager to roll with me, so I must be doing something right. Rolling is a gift that you give your training partner, and it is a two way street. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’m THE GUY most people in BJJ have been training to beat in a no-holds barred street fight - a really big, really strong, semi-skilled goon. So it is great that these people get the training experience of going against someone with such a huge size and strength advantage.
From my perspective, the small bits of skill I have can already seem tragically unfair to my smaller opponents. I don’t get much out of a roll if I hit them with a takedown, get side control and then armlock them in seconds. I will, however, learn a lot more by trying to work a submission I’ve never landed, or let them take the top and work to get out. I think I can overcome the handicap of walking into class with a 600+ deadlift and a big weight advantage, but I’ll need to be mindful about it.
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That’s insightful and very self aware (which you’ve demonstrated consistently in your posting) but it is something worth pointing out that a lot of folks can’t seem to master (when to push it, when to pull your punches, and how to do it while continuing to learn and develop). Enjoying reading your right ups, keep up the good work.
As a personal curiosity, since you’ve started BJJ on a regular basis have you noticed any mental health benefits? (I ask because you mentioned a bit of a rough patch and folks pretty regularly notice an uptick in mental health when practicing these arts due to will power/self control/self realization.) Feel free to not answer, like I said, simply curious.
really big, really strong, semi-skilled goon
Jeez.
@biker I’d say that’s an accurate self-assessment!
Generally speaking, I’m a lot more relaxed. I’ve always been a pretty relaxed dude, but there’s definitely something calming about full-force rolling multiple times per week. Sure, I have a black eye right now from Sunday’s rolling, but that’s going to go away. The lessons will stay. All of a sudden, Pam from Customer Service’s bullshit is a lot easier to swallow now. Those emails in all capital letters with a snarky tone no longer rustle my jimmies like they used to.
I’m going through a breakup now, and I’m not doing myself any mental health favors by letting her live with me for another month. But that’s going to pass too, and I’ve only gotten really worked up once. Because she baited me with trick female questions that have no right answers! Fool me once, shame on me…
But yeah, you’d be amazed at how theraputic it can be when you’ve got to handle another person who is doing everything they possibly can to choke the shit out of you or break your bones.
Its like violent yoga.
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