Really briefly...

Had an AMAZING open mat session (gi) yesterday with Barata at Albuquerque BJJ. He's about my size, and he let me play, and he had some really good suggestions for me when I'm in open guard. I tend to just press forward rather than stepping back and even standing up to disentangle my legs from the de la Riva guard. That leaves me vulnerable to being swept, because I'm leaving space for him to thread his legs through. So he let me practice standing up and backing away.

And then he'd sweep me anyway. But it was terrific. I'm also happy about my cardio, because I felt fine, and it wasn't until after we were done that I remembered we're at 6000 feet here in ABQ.

Oh, and I got a picture with Barata. I'll post it soon (promises, promises). He's an excellent teacher and a really terrific guy. Thanks to him and Don! And to Tammy. I didn't get to train with her yesterday, but I did on Friday. She's doing great.

Starting to teach one of my online courses tomorrow (the other one starts on Thurs). Went for a hike today in the gorgeous Manzano mountains. Getting up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to fly back to LA in time to get to the store by 11. Better get a little sleep.