Jiu Jitsu Over the Holidays
As the holiday season approaches, some of you may be wondering, “How do I continue to advance my jiu jitsu even on days when I can’t get on the mats?” Well, lucky for you, we’ve decided to create a special holiday jiu jitsu write up just for you so that you can keep that growth going even during the holiday season.
Listen, the first thing to know is that we get it. Your family just doesn’t understand the fact that you’re a shark and the world is your ocean. They think you’re just some normal person who enjoys doing your karate or kickboxing workout or whatever it is you do over at Airlock. But we know better. We know that you could kill the entire orc army of Mordor with your bare hands, you could hip toss Jason Bourne then baseball bat choke him, you could explain to Darth Vader why his one hand force choke is easy to defend and that he should instead switch to a force triangle choke even though it sort of looks like he’s doing a mid-air curtsy when he does it. And yes, these should have been Christmas style references, but they’re already written and they are brilliant. Ah, you could show Santa a simple heel hook that would be a more effective lesson he could give to the naughty list than lumps of coal. There.
The point is, the holidays are a hard time for those of us who train jiu jitsu. Our families just don’t get it, the food is just making you fat – yes, effective for getting that heavyweight-style pressure, but terrible for your cardio to roll 5+ rounds – and everyone wants you to be ‘home for Christmas’ and the kids want to ‘play with their new presents’ and ‘make memories with you.’ Gross. You know you’d rather be on the mats honing in the finishing details on your buggy choke. You’d rather be baptized daily in the sweat of your homies while you strangle them bitches for fun. We hear you, we feel all these things too.
But we’re here today to tell you that you can make it, you’re going to be OK, and the holidays will be over soon. You’ll be back on the mats before you know it, and you’ll come back to the only place that loves your sociopathic self. In the meantime, here are a few tips to keep your edge during the holidays:
- Keep up your cardio: Get a jog in early before the kids are all over Santa’s presents
- Stretch & stay mobile: While you’re up on the roof hanging lights, get some rooftop yoga in
- Try to eat well: Use your cookie cutter on some prime ribeye so you have some meaty, nutrient-dense, angel-shaped snacks
- Remember your fundamentals: The second that grandma gives up double-unders on your holiday hug, rotate your hips, secure the far tricep and hit that uchi mata throw AKA hoochie mama throw
- Get in as much training as possible: Never fear, Airlock is here for you with plenty of holiday Open Mats and classes, just keep an eye on our Instagram for the latest schedule updates
Oh, and for our members, a quick reminder that we are having our holiday promotion party on the evening of Tuesday, Dec 19. Stay tuned for more details. Have a happy holiday season, and we’ll see you on the mats! Bonus points if someone rolls in a Santa suit.