November was an busy month, with work, holidays and school all keeping me on my toes.

Training wise, November was one of my better months since I started classes. I average about one training session a week, and that usually is Sunday. Two weeks ago, I made it to training three times (my normal is one per week), and it felt pretty damn good. I managed two Gi and one No-Gi classes, and it was easily a record for me since class began in September. With Thanksgiving being last week, it give me another day of training, other then my usual Sunday. Hopefully I will be able to maintain some of this momentum going forward. With lack of substantial mat time, I’ve been trying to focus on fundamentals including movements that flow from one position to the next, timing my movements and gauging my opponents timing, and keeping my body in proper position. Technique wise, I really want to continue to work on takedowns (snap-down to ankle pick, or a shot).

Also last week, as luck would have it, I found and bought two Tiffin 6×12 folding mats for CHEAP. Realistically, I only need one, but the price was right so I grabbed them both. The plan is set up one in the basement and use it for home drilling. So far we’ve managed two drilling/instruction sessions since it was set up. If we can use it once a week, it’s a win. On the strength and conditioning side of things, I’ve been consistent at three times a week, usually late night after my school work is done. It’s not Jiujitsu, but it’s the best I can do for now…at least it will keep me “in shape”. The reality is though, there is No Substitute for being in “JiuJitsu shape!”

My class (javascript/html/css) is coming along, and I’m passing thankfully. It’s not as fun as my Python courses, but I was actually looking forward to it when I signed up. When it began, it seemed like it would be kind of fun…But then the class began. Starting with the first assignment you realized the class was going to be a bit different. As we moved along with our modules, it became apparent that the professor was clearly mailing it in. Some teachers teach, some lecture, while others present information and help us analyze it. This guy sends us to a website to learn, gives us links to read or watch (a quarter of which are dead) never answers questions and hardly interacts with the class at all. I’m not paying fees to teach myself, although that seems like what’s happening.

We have a message board we use to ask questions, but 95% of the time he doesn’t answer them. The general sense of frustration in the class is apparent on the message board, and it seems most people, myself included, aren’t quite sure if we actually learned the proper way to complete our tasks. We finally got some grades back from assignments submitted in early September and October this week. Yesterday we received our second to last module, and of course it builds off things we have turned in but lack feedback on. Nothing I can do except the best I can, and NEVER take a class instructed by this unprofessional character again. When the time comes to give our course evaluation I will probably mention some of this stuff. I despise even considering doing that on the eval, but this course was disappointing on multiple levels, and my time and efforts would have been better spent on another class or on the mats.

On the travel front, there are two things on the horizon. A small weekend escape to Montreal is the first one coming up. We’ve been there in the past, but Montreal is a big enough place and we still have things which we would like to see. We are also going to see the Canadiens play again. It should be a good time. We also have a quick winter holiday planned for January. I’ll post more about this and follow up on our Montreal trip shortly.