Recently, I made the decision to takesome time off from school and invest that time into training more jiu jitsu.Although I realize how important school is, it’s just not something that I wantto do at this point in my life. I wasn’t focused on my schoolwork, so I justdecided that I needed a break. I think it is vital for people to use their lifeto do what makes them happy, whatever that may be.
My normal week now consists of about 25 hours of training. Monday through Thursday, I wake up around 5:30am to trainthe morning class from 7am-8am, followed by some strength and conditioningcircuit training. Then, I attend two classes at night—usually for about 3hours, from 6:30pm-9:30pm. Fridays, I train either the noon class or the nightclass, which are both about 1-2 hours long. Saturdays, from 11am-2pm, I am ableto train both the intermediate and advanced classes. Lastly on Sundays, I go toJenn’s gym for their open mat from 12pm-2pm. By the end of the week,my body is pretty worn out from all of the heavy training, and I’m starting toget all of the horrific jiu jitsu features, like the signature “spider guard”knuckles.
It’s funny. I don’t realize how muchthat I actually train because I enjoy it so much. Then, I hear comments from myteammates like, “Damn girl, you just live at the gym now,” and it makes me laugh.I guess I don’t realize how much my life has changed in these past couple ofmonths.
I had a spontaneous urge to travelback to California for a week to train jiu jitsu with some top competitors, torelax, and just hang out with my boyfriend, Keenan Cornelius. Sometimes it’snice to have a change in a repetitive schedule to keep you motivated, whilestill being able to train hard and work towards your goal. I’m really excitedto be able to train with some new people who can really push me and help me toimprove my game.
I think it’s essential to train withpeople from other gyms. A lot of people are very opinionated about other teamsand gyms, but I don’t quite understand why. Just simply training with otherpeople can’t hurt you in any way. It will only make you better. Limitingyourself to just training with the same people constantly can become boring attimes. Most schools have a specific style or game that they teach, so byrepeatedly training against somebody with only one game, you are only preparingyourself to go up against that certain style of jiu jitsu. In competition, youcompete against people with such different styles than what you are used to, soit’s important to train with other people so that you are constantly adaptingto different styles of jiu jitsu.
I’m also excited to be able toactually train with Keenan for a week. I say that now, but when I’m stuck in hisside control being uncomfortably crushed and/or cross choked, I feel like Iwill take back that comment. All of his helpful tips and techniques make itworthwhile though. It is very motivating to have a boyfriend who is sodedicated to the sport. Because of my decision to train more, I have beenreceiving a lot of negative comments from people about what I should be doingwith my life, but Keenan has always supported my goals because he understandsthat jiu jitsu is what makes me happy. Even though we have a long distancerelationship and we don’t get to see each other often, I’m very appreciative toalways have him there for me and constantly pushing me to keep on strivingtowards my goals.
Having a week away from my home andnormal schedule will be good for me, physically and mentally. I will be able totrain hard throughout the week, all while being able to enjoy California andeverything it has to offer.
--Morgan Beverly
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