I was in a much better mental place for open mat on Saturday.

Ron was there too, so we spent our first two rounds playing around with a few things and catching up. Good enough to get a sweat going.

I was looking around to see who was next, when Damian appeared.

I really wish I had video of our round. It felt like 6 minutes of constant movement. Too much to recall, let alone recount. He didn’t crush me, nor did he give me anything I didn’t earn. He tested me to see if I remembered the hitchhiker arm lock escape, which I did. When I was standing in DLR, I paused to recall the proper pass, and he gave me a second to do so. Didn’t matter, as he countered, but I like that he gave me a chance. Probably one of the better rounds I’ve had with him.

I spent the next round gasping for air, recovering, and watching him do the same thing to Purple Belt Matt.

I grabbed Otto next. Frustrating round for me. I need to get faster at stripping grips and preventing them from situp guard. Near the end, I did get a nice ankle pick into a DLR pass. I really need to drill those passes more, and force opportunities to practice them.

Then Damian told me to go roll with Zig. It took me all of 15 seconds to violate Rule #1 of rolling with Zig: Stay on Top. He didn’t completely crush me, but it was a long round never the less.

I was going to head out, as I had other commitments, but Damian lined us up and handed out a couple of white belt stripes.