u/Earth__Worm__Jim

Hi,

I practiced BJJ and grappling in the past and now I'm considering starting with Judo, maybe taking up BJJ again. Judo schools allow BJJ Gis for training. What's the new shit in BJJ Gis?

My BJJ time was over 10 years ago. At that time I had a Tatami Zero G, which is still a thing apparently. But as light as it is is it suitable for Judo with all the ripping and throws? What are alternatives on the same budget level? Are light Gis suitable for Judo at all?

Thanks.

I'm currently looking for a new gym. My background: I'm mid 30s, I have 20+ years of experience in martial arts. Karate (point fighting), MMA, Muay Thai for his context. I weigh 63 kg. Most of the time I was very lucky with my gyms. I trained in the best gyms in my country / region, with the best coaches. The sparring culture was text book. Light or moderate and technical sparring, not "fighting for your life", being aware of other people on the mat, holding back if you have a much lighter or much less experienced partner etc.

So I was at this kickboxing gym. There are only two or three within reach where you can also train for half-contact kickboxing (Kick Light etc.) which is what I'd like to do for competitions now and hence I'm struggling to back away from the gym which is what I'd probably done in some random gym. They also have point fighters (which was the Karate style I did as a first sport), the training of which is unbeatable in certain aspects: foot work, distance, timing etc.

You can do only two trial sessions there before signing up. One I went to was the sparring. It started with the coach giving a talk to everyone about what I described: "Don't go hard. Only about 15%. Allow yourselves to get hit. Especially when s.o. is much lighter or much less skilled.". The gym is small and it was full. So there was only a small spot for each couple, you could only do a few steps, then you would run into other people. In my former gym this would naturally have meant doing an on-the-spot light and partial practice of, for example, infight or clinch. Or a partner just shelling up and practicing evading, while not getting it hard or course.

Everybody sparred everybody. The gym has no beginner or advanced courses btw, everybody trains in the same group. You have to sparr with headgear, I could borrow one there. The experience level in the gym, I would say, is roughly 50% beginners, around 40% beginner to intermediate, around 10% skilled people. Most people where indeed going light, with a few exceptions, most notably two: I sparred two coaches. One was ca. 75-80 kg, about 30, training and competing for 13 years I think. He's technically skilled, but started going hard from the beginning. Which was utterly weird to me. For me good culture is pacing yourself and approaching the intensity with s.o. you have never sparred with, I would expect that at least from coaches. But also he was giving shit about running (me) into other people. Also my borrowed headgear was not sitting well and kept sliding into my face, which he ignored when hitting and which was super shitty.

The other coach was an older guy, around 50, the one giving the session. But before that I sparred a ca. 90 kg beginner-intermediate guy. He was by far the hardest in the group. He threw heavy shots, which I responded with heavy shots myself, I got angry about him banging like that despite the coaches initial statement. The coach came along and told him: "You're going way too hard. Control! Just snap the kicks lightly, like this [shows it].". And: He did manage it! I said "Hey you CAN sparr lightly, wow!". He instantly sparred with better technique.

Then I sparred the coach, also 90 kg. I don't know how long he's been training, his technique is OK to solid, but he was fuckin nervous about getting hit, constantly jittering about incoming shots and letting none through. He was always running away across half of the mat crossing at least two other couples' spaces. Mind you: I'm 165 cm and 63 kg. He's about 180 cm and 90 kg. I asked him to stay closer. Then he threw exactly the hard mid kicks that he instructed my prior partner not to do. I said: "well...but your kicks are very hard too.". He said: "Hm yeah, that's the weight. With 90kg... what do you do? But I noticed it hitting your elbow". I half-jokingly said - because I't was like he was fuckin kidding me: "But you just told him not to go that hard and he's your weight too.". He didn't answer.

Like WTF?! Only me? Or does that make a shitty impression? tbh I have to say, normally that kind of fighter, especially a coach, instantly loses my respect. Do I expect to much? I mean the first coach, you could blame it on his age and still big ego (although I have to say I didn't have that problem at 30 anymore since long and others too), but the older coach? You talk one way and do the exact opposite and moreover give a shitty excuse for it? But even an unexperienced guy managed it in an instance? And with the exception of that one guy other beginners there that also were at least 80 kg managed to sparr perfectly light. I didn't want to be the new guy and instantly give a big rant in the faces of two coaches at once. I wanted the gym to be good 😢

Have you had this situation? Are you comfortable as students being around coaches that, well, are less skilled and whose manners suck? I have to admit, I already have a problem being coached by someone who has had much less time in the sport than me (at least if I sense that there is little substance to it), but with that kind of weird ego problems in addition... against s.o. who is much lighter and shorter... oh man. I've never had a situation where I would openly address a coaches lack of skill or bad behavior openly, let alone two. Also I'm afraid I won't learn a great deal like that there.

Another weird thing on the side is - and I've seen this a lot in other gyms: They don't seem to control gloves. They are very strict about headgear, you're absolutely not allowed to sparr without it. But at least one other heavier 80-90kg guy sparred me with fuckin 10 oz gloves. I pointed him immediately to that. He was surprised.

The gym has another two coaches, one is an advanced beginner, I think. But the other with 16 years, but he's mainly in pointfighting, I think. Which is not what I intended to do again. But looks like the better option in that gym.

Side question: Can it be that this stuff is not so uncommon in the kickboxing world? I was in a kickboxing/K1 gym the last year and people there had such a hard time going light. I attributed it to a dominant hooligan culture in that gym :D at least the technical level there was very good. Then I was at an ISKA competition. God, the technique was awful in a lot of fights, or not even present, especially in the K1 "light" division, it was a mindless standing in front of each other and banging heads in. My eyes bled. And now that gym.

Just these days I've seen MMA fightcamp sparring videos of an old gym (3-4 years ago) of mine. Man! I forgot was excellent sparring is like. The coach said: "I want to see intense sparring, don't hold back. No hurting, but don't hold back.". Sounds like "beat each other up" at first, but it was the mooost technical, skilled sparring and suuuper moderate.

Hi,

a few months ago I read a book on nordic shamanism which quoted an ethnobotanic/-mycologic work stating that Paneolus was one of the main psychedelic ingredients/mushrooms in a certain brew. I was stunned since until then I perceived everybody's warning against Paneolus in the mushroom community as = Paneolus dangerous. This is apparently not the case. I didn't even know that they are psychedelic, albeit weaker than Psilocybe.

Does anybody have experiences with them?