More Utah, then weekend in Hailey, ID

As promised, here is a picture of the view from Route 80 in Wyoming. Very pretty! I have been really lax the past couple days about taking pics of the scenery, so I’m gonna do better in Idaho than I did in Utah, where the only pic I took was of me and Pedro Sauer’s black belts.

Happy belated birthday to my friend Julie! I started writing this on the 20th, which is her actual birthday, but haven’t had a chance to post because I’ve been having so much fun! I trained all weekend at the Orem academy and it has been amazing. I went to class twice on Thursday. At the morning class I met two instructors. Rick received his black belt at 19, the youngest American ever to do so. He’s a ripe old 20 now. (These kids, I tell you. What the heck was I doing at 20? Engaging in underage drinking and skipping class, probably.) And Spaghetti is one of those black belts whose belt looks gray because it’s so faded already. Spaghetti is so named because he is incredibly flexible. Like freakishly so. When we were sparring it didn’t matter where I was: on his back, at his head, in side control; eventually his crazy feet would appear out of nowhere and grab under my arms so I couldn’t do anything.

I got to spar with both Rick and Spaghetti about a half hour each. I was so happy because it was really fun for me, but it’s always fun for me to spar with a higher belt. But they both said sparring with me was fun, especially Spaghetti, who kept telling me how great my technique is.

After class I had a nice encounter with the hotel staff: I was just chatting with the girls who checked me into the La Quinta I’m staying in, and I told them about my trip. They are young girls, and they sounded really excited about it, and the one in charge upgraded me to a Jacuzzi suite. That was pretty nice of them, don’tcha think?

I went back to Sauer’s academy for the evening classes and got to meet Professor Sauer himself. I had spoken to him on the phone earlier; I had called the academy to get directions and he called me back! What a nice guy. Unfortunately for both him AND me, he has just had shoulder surgery, and for a snowboarding accident, no less. So that means he can’t train or teach, which means I didn’t get to learn directly from him. But I was glad to meet him. I didn’t get a picture because class had already started—and I was teaching!

Well, I did the warm-up for Spaghetti for the beginner class; he asked me to because I was the highest-ranking student. So we ran a little and then did some drills that I’ve learned from various instructors. Rick asked if I knew a lot of drills and when I said, “Oh, I cherrypick from the very best,” he asked me to show a couple more. And eventually we put our heads together so I could share some more with him. How cool is that? A black belt is asking me for technique suggestions. This is cool 1) because it means I actually know something, and 2) because Rick is one of those black belts who truly does leave his ego at the door. I mean, I believe you can learn from anyone, but I don’t know that everyone thinks so.

That being said, the guy is amazing. I think I showed him two things tops that he had never seen (and keep in mind that what I showed him is what I learned from other, more experienced black belts, not stuff I can take credit for in any way), and the rest at least he had seen before, and more often than not showed me a more effective version.

Here is a picture of me with Spaghetti on the left and Rick Lundell, the youngest American ever to earn his BJJ black belt, on the right.

I got to spar with Rick and Spaghetti a LOT. It was so great, and their technique is incredible. Frequently on the message boards, people will talk about how a certain person’s technique is “sick,” meaning it is really really freaking good. To continue the metaphor, in Rick and Spag’s case, their technique is on its deathbed (that means it’s even more than “sick.” Bad joke. Good technique.)

The next day, Friday, I got to talk technique with Rick and then train with him and Spaghetti again. We hit on the terrific idea of videotaping moves, so now I’m building up a little library. It’s so much easier to see a technique than it is to take notes about it, so that will be incredibly useful. Plus, I can share the videos with people like Sharon, whom I excitedly called after Rick showed wristlocks from the turtle position, even though I know she’s in Brazil for a competition called the Mundial.

The next day, Saturday, was wristlocks from turtle courtesy of Rick, and then it was a 4 hour, 320-mile drive to Hailey, ID, on I-15, I-84, and state roads 93 and 75. I am so grateful to Rick and Spaghetti for giving me so much to think about and so many simple fixes that I can definitely work into my game. I know I will be so much better technically as a result of my visit to Pedro Sauer's academy. And now I have two friends in Orem, whereas on Wednesday I had none.

I am now in Hailey, visiting my college friends John and Danni. It is GREAT to see them, and I’m not just saying that because they fed me and have given me a great guest room to sleep in and their 5-year-old son (said he was 6 in a previous post, but he’s 5; I won’t make him grow up any quicker than he has to) wrote the cutest welcome in chalk on the front porch.

(Originally it just said "Hi Val," but he added the "I heart" part after hanging out with me for a little while.) Part of it has to do with re-establishing a lost connection with people I genuinely enjoy. And part of it is that we sat around and complained about the decline of the English language (e.g., “irregardless” is not a word, but the dictionary has added it, much to my chagrin), which is one of my favorite pastimes.

Hailey is a gorgeous town nestled in the beautiful mountains I guess I have started to take for granted. None of that! Ketchum and Sun Valley are nearby; I think we’re going to take a drive tomorrow during the hot part of the day. (Did I mention that it’s still HOT? Rick and Spaghetti came to pick me up yesterday and it was so hot waiting on the curb that I had to sit on my gi, otherwise my legs would have burned.), and before that it’s French toast and exploring in the yard with my new 5-year-old friend.

I also continue to make plans for future legs of my trip. I spoke with the friends of my family who live in Boise and whom I’ll go visit next week when I check out Craig Kukuk's school. (And btw, I learned that "Boise" is pronounced "Boy-see," not "Boy-zee." Who knew?) I made plans with a fellow BJJer to hang out when I get to Vancouver. I talked to Debbie and found out that she had wanted me to stay longer in Juneau than the week I’m planning. Well, I’ll be there for a bit, so we’ll make the most of it! I made plans with another BJJer, who is going to get me into the MMA event he is reffing in Anchorage; I rearranged my schedule so I could be there.

Okay, there’s always more to report, but I gotta get some sleep. That French toast isn’t gonna eat itself in the morning, and I didn’t sleep much last night either (sense a pattern?). More tomorrow after a big day in Hailey!