Passing, Passing and More Passing

My dad is the young guy in the white shorts.
Guess I’m more like him than I realized.

by Jen
So last night I had to pass guard over and over and over again. Or maybe I should say "try to" pass. I spent an entire round in one of our white belt’s guard and could not pass! Since we didn’t do anything significant in the entire 6 minutes, Marcelo had us try again for the next 6-minute round. Again, no luck. Then, I had to try to pass Tom’s guard. Ugh!

Excuses? I have plenty. The white belt was strong! There was no moving his legs – they were tight. I did CrossFit that morning and did a bunch of 55lb snatches. (Snatches include in an overhead squat). My legs were burning when I tried to stand up! And let’s not forget that he is determined – this guy has a lot of heart. Plus, I was getting so frustrated!

And Tom? He is great with the grips. Every time I broke one grip he quickly grabbed another. Over and over and over again. Grip, sweep, repeat. Ugh!

Excuses aside, the fact was I could not pass and I should have been able to. I may not like it on the surface, but I appreciate why Marcelo made me pass (or try to) over and over and over again.

I need to know that I can pass. It is better to work through the frustration and feelings of defeat in practice instead of in a tournament. If I keep trying I will finally figure it out. Most importantly, I will eventually develop more confidence in my passing so when I am in a tournament, I won’t be held back. Do I have to like this though?