Tag Archives: transportation

Attacking the “Too Much Work” Excuse

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dilbert-too-much-work

How do I know a competition is coming up? I start stressing about how much work I have to finish, and the realization floods my mind that I cannot “afford” to “waste” a full day at a jiu jitsu or judo tournament.

I’ve sacrificed a lot to be able to pursue my goals in academia while still training frequently. Specifically, my social life is non-existent. And my “love-life” is the equivalent of getting a McDonalds burger at a truck-stop drive-through.

I’ve learned to utilize public transit to remain productive in transit to and from training. In fact the long train/bus rides to training are some of the most productive periods of my day. I put in ear plugs, and turn off the world, focused on the text I’m reading.

However, this all falls apart for a tournament. I never took public transit to a tournament, but more importantly I was never doing work in the large spans of down time that is often part of the tournament “experience”. Of course, there are big tournaments, when many of my teammates are competing, and it only makes sense for me to focus on my matches and doing the best that I can. However, for smaller more casual tournaments, when it’s just me and one other teammate (or just me), I really have no excuse except nerves and laziness not to get work done while I’m waiting.

In other words, I do have too much work to compete every weekend, if a competition means I spend the whole day doing nothing. But if I can get a good amount of writing and reading done on the way to the tournament, while there, and on the way back, then a competition is hardly different than any other training session.

So, I’m switch my approach to smaller tournaments (and by smaller I mean everything that’s not Pan Ams, Worlds, NY Open, etc). If at all possible, I’m choosing public transit as the mode of transportation (unless several other teammates are going) and I’m pulling out papers and notebook as soon as I get there, working until I have to warm up, and working all the way in transit to and from the venue. For example, tomorrow, I’m going to North Bergen, NJ for the Hudson Judo Promotional Tournament, which requires taking a bus, then train, then bus. The total cost is only $15 each way, but the planning of routes is a major pain-in-the-ass.

All this probably sounds excessive. It’s not, because it is necessary to achieve my goals. In order to actively compete while pursuing a career in academia as a productive researcher, this is what I have to do in order to provide a convincing solution to the “too much work” excuse.

The Day-to-Day of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo

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bjj-judo-laundryWhen I first started grappling, I thought I’d just show up once or twice a week, get my ass kicked, and then go home happy. But the more I trained, the more I learned that there are things that I have to do off the mat in order to improve my game or even just to make the whole experience pleasant and feasible as part of a busy life:

  • Laundry. A gi should never be worn for two practices without being washed in-between (unless you did zero work, but even then). Also it should be thoroughly air-dried.
  • Diet.
    • I used to think that diet was about losing weight. It is. But it’s also about eating stuff that can keep you energized throughout the day and through training. Also, my digestive system is pretty screwed up, so a big part of a diet for me is figuring out what to eat in order to avoid getting sick or having a stomachache in training. If I fail in this aspect, it definitely makes training less fun.
    • Drink water (to counter-balance the pots of coffee I consume)
  • Shower. Right away after every practice.
  • Medical Tape. Most of the taping I do is to cover cuts and mat burn so as to help avoid infection. This is really a major pain in the ass.
  • Transit
    • Learn the public transit system (the subway and rails are hard enough, but the bus system is a chaotic mess of routes and schedules)
    • Learn how to stay productive while riding or waiting for the bus/train
  • Learn
    • Watch competition footage
    • Watch instructional videos
    • Read instructional books
    • Keep notes

The above, to me, is the “jiu-jitsu lifestyle”: doing laundry, taking showers, and riding the bus. It’s not as glorious as sex, drugs, and surfing, but I still love it.

My Experience at the IBJJF New York Open

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Today, I competed at the 2011 IBJJF New York Open. It’s a big tournament that I think is envisioned to be the East Coast brother to the Pan Ams.

My division (blue belt, middle) had 37 guys. I won my first two matches, and lost my third. I spent some time on my back, which is a new thing for me, and played a relaxed butterfly guard, getting an x-guard sweep on each of my three opponents. I enjoyed the fact that my opponent’s aggression in every case was not a chaotic beginner aggression, but just spurts of power behind excellent technique. In particular, I really enjoyed the x-guard fight with the last guy who fought it hard, looking to pass as opposed to not get swept.

My loss came to a left-sided triangle that my opponent was looking for the whole match. He kept trying for armbars and triangles with excellent hip movement which made passing his guard a lot trickier since I had to constantly be on the defensive.

I watched his next match against a much more aggressive opponent, and realized that perhaps one (of many) of my problems revealed by this tourney is I was too chill. This kind of aggression (grip breaking, constant movement) seemed to nullify the submission attempts well. Anyway, the guy that beat me went on to win the division.

Overall it was a good experience, not the least of which was the transportation. I took a $15 bus up to NYC from Philly and took the same bus back. I slept almost all of the way there and back. And when I wasn’t sleeping, I was working, so it was productive too! I think being well-rested made the tournament experience more enjoyable. Also I weighed in 6 lbs under (with my gi) after a big breakfast. 181 lbs division is a good one for me for these tourneys. I have too much stressful work that fills my week to be able to make the cut for same-day weigh-ins. Ultimately, I lost because my technique wasn’t good enough, and coming down a weight class won’t fix that. Training harder and smarter will.

How Much Does it Cost To Compete

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I’ve done about 30-40 local tournaments in the last 2 years, so I figured I’d reminisce about all the money I spent in that time. There are a bunch of costs to consider, and it always varies, but I wanted to put some numbers up so that people that are looking to compete for the first time are aware of it, and save up ;-) Also, I know I still pretend to myself that a competition is no more than an entry fee, when in reality the entry fee is often less than half the cost. So this post is also for myself and others in similar situations to help in financially planning for these events. In this post the focus is on “local” tournaments that are 2-3 hours away from where I live. Multi-day tournaments you have to fly to are on a whole another level financially.

For the purpose of this post, I assume I’m going to a competition in New York City from Philadelphia. I’m weighing in the night before, and staying over night. Later, I’ll discuss how that cost can be cut down. The cost is based on my experience.

  • Entry fee (for two divisions, second is usually about half price)
    • $60-100, but let’s say $80
  • Travel
    • Gas: $30 (source)
    • Tolls: $30 (source)
    • Car rental (2 days): $80
  • Hotel
    • $110
  • Food afterwards (to celebrate)
    • $20

So, here are the total costs depending on how many people are going to split the travel and hotel:

  • You go alone: 80+30+30+80+110+20=$350
  • 2 people: $225
  • 3 people: $183
  • 4 people: $163

Going the same day removes the cost of one day’s car rental and hotel. The total cost then is:

  • You go alone: 80+30+30+40+20=$200
  • 2 people: $150
  • 3 people: $133
  • 4 people: $125

There are several objections you might have to the above numbers. First, you might say, “but I already have a car”. I find that when multiple people go, you should really treat it as a cheap rental and contribute at least some money to the driver over what the gas and tolls cost. But certainly, if someone already has a car, it turns out cheaper.

Second, you might say that you can easily save the $20 for food by not going out afterwards. In my experience, going out afterwards is an essential part of unwinding after a tournament, gathering your thoughts, and talking about what you learned and have to work on. But also it’s just good for bonding. Nothing forms friendships like being in “battle” together.

The above might seem like a lot of money. Probably because most people think of the cost of a tournament as just the entry fee. I don’t mean to discourage you from competing. But you have to be realistic and plan your finances accordingly, so that you don’t feel like the whole experience was not worth what you ended up paying for it.

The moral of the story for me is that going with 4 people is the best idea. I prefer going the night before so that weight is not an issue. Also it makes the whole experience more like a road trip if you go the night before.

Wash Your Gi

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A not insignificant part of the judo/jiu-jitsu “life-style” is spent in transit to/from training, showering, and doing laundry. It sounds ridiculous, but it’s at least true for me.

Suppose you want to be serious about training judo and jiu jitsu. Suppose even that you want to train every day or twice a day. As a friend of mine, Eric, reminded me yesterday with his blog post, infection is also a big part of training. Or rather preventing and fighting infection.

I get mat/gi burn on my feet and hands quite often. It’s incredibly frustrating and leaves me vulnerable to infections, both minor (ringworm) and major (e.g. staph). I think that’s a problem (a.k.a. pain-in-the-ass) everyone has to deal with. Here are some things I do to help prevent infection:

  • Always train in a clean gi. Even if I didn’t sweat at all while wearing it last time, I still wash it.
  • Spray my gym bag with Lysol. I just recently started doing this based on advice some other blog gave.
  • Invest in good tape, lots of it, and tape all open “wounds” like mat/gi burn, scratches, etc.
  • Shower as soon as possible after practice, with antibacterial soap. Some people recommend Defense Bar Soap, but at $6 a bar, it’s a little steep for me. I hear that a good alternative is Super Soap, that’s more reasonably priced. I’ll have to try it.
  • Drink a shot of cold cheap vodka right after every training session. It’s a well known fact in Russian medical journals that bacteria hate vodka, especially the cheap crap that comes in plastic bottles. I recommend Gordon’s or Smirnoff for the individual with a refined taste.

It’s funny but most academies I’ve attended don’t stress these ideas in class, or maybe I just don’t notice it. The higher ranks learn it through word-of-mouth, but I often find beginner students not wash the gi more often than every several practices as long as it dries in-between.

If you want to see something disgusting, google “staph infection” and click on “Images”. Here’s a link. It should serve as a good reminder to follow the steps above.

Public Transit in Siberia

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Some training sessions push you to the edge of your conditioning and beyond. And I love those, and am always deeply greatful for the excellent jiu jitsu players and judoka that make those happen through their hard work and determined spirit.

But there is one thing that is harder than the hardest training sessions, and that’s waiting for the god damn trolley in freezing windy weather. Twice already I’ve been broken by a 30 minute “waiting session”. I’m mostly joking, of course, but I have on two occasions had to miss a training session because the trolley never came.

Public transit in general is a great way to get to training. I don’t have to worry about parking, driving in traffic, etc. I can just relax with a book, eat an apple, or let my mind focus on the training ahead or behind me. But in winter, it can get a little rough when I rely on buses or trolleys, because they often do not at all follow their schedule (unlike subway trains).

In a weird way, not letting the cold discourage me has become part of the training process. It’s just another moment when my mind says “why the hell are you doing this?” and it’s my job to respond “because i love it”.

Oh, and the above-pictured naked dude in ice cold water with an axe is my hero.