Hi world!!! I went to #bjj today after 2 months of not being in class for various reasons! I’m excited to be back but exhausted! It was hard rolling my tush out of my house tonight..and frustrating cause I couldn’t find my mouthpiece or my gi jacket, or my belt…but I found them and forced myself out the door!! I thought I looked kinda cute with my braid and my hat so y’all lucky ducks got a picture of me today 😉 #ontheroadtopurplebelt #karategirltrains (at Satori Academy of Martial Arts NJ)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq_THKGFLtB/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=o7snto2mvfug


Hey, it’s been a while since you’ve gotten a #BJJ pic from me…figured I’d give everyone a break from seeing my tomato red face! Anyway, I’m proud to report that I had a Dr appointment this week, and she said my blood pressure was down and I had lost 2 pounds! That makes me super happy!!! I also think my lungs are remembering how to breathe, I wasn’t completely wrecked from the warm up! Still have a long ways to go to get back to where I was, but I’m gonna celebrate every little improvement! Must #akf! #ontheroadtopurplebelt #acl #aclrecovery (at Satori Academy of Martial Arts NJ)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnwPVARhtJv/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=12fqyvpwegr6z


So….my grand exercise plan for this week was waylaid by a horrible head cold. Grr. But I did manage a variety of things this week, including working on (ewww) prep for school, spending a day with my niece and nephew, cooking real food, a day relaxing at the beach, and I finally got to train today. My body feels like jelly, and I had to give myself a stern talking to to get me there, but I did!!

Oh, and I have the beginnings of a bruise on my right arm–sign of a good training day!!

#bjj #acl #aclrecovery #aclsurgery #training #ontheroadtopurplebelt (at Satori Academy of Martial Arts NJ)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmWKsXEh3xw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=po93eodd1i5l


If I was willing to make a video, I would have, because when I got in my car Carry on My Wayward Son was on the radio. But I won’t do that without a prewritten script, so…no. Maybe one day.

In any case, look at that hair!!!! I knew I wasn’t going to be around Friday night, so I made sure to go on Wednesday, so I still got two days in. Next week I’m aiming for three days and at least one day at home doing something– probably strength training because I enjoy that, so it’s easier to get the motivation to do that at home.

I’m slowly starting to remember how to breathe. I didn’t feel totally smashed after our rolls at the end of class…it helped that I had a fantastic first match and rode that through the other two matches.

#bjj #training #ACL #surgeryrecovery #ACLrecovery #ontheroadtopurplebelt #carryonmywaywardson #akf (at Edison, New Jersey)


I’m just gonna lay here on my floor for a while…

Meanwhile, I got the best complement from my coach…he asked how long I had been training because I was very technical, and I said about 5 years, and he asked if I’d taken breaks and it gave a great opportunity for me to explain I was coming back after 2 years off because of an #acl injury. But he said I was technical I love it I’m so happy!!! #bjj I have missed you so much!! I’m glad my muscles remember what they are supposed to do even if my lungs don’t!!! #aclinjury #training #recovery #ontheroadtopurplebelt (at Satori Academy of Martial Arts NJ)


Lookit that tomato face!!! 2nd BJJ class…and 1st time I’ve trained 3 times in one week….in probably a year! My muscles are doing jellyfish impression right now but it feels AWESOME!! I was unsuprisingly totally smushed during rolling, but loved it all the same!! And I got a complement on my hip movement while we did triangles, so that was exciting!! I have trouble skipping (one of our warm ups) either lacking or to afraid of the explosive power on my right leg. If anyone has any suggestions to work that, lemme know! #bjj #ontheroadtopurplebelt #acl #injury #recovery #training #triangles #hipmovement #likeasnake (at Satori Academy of Martial Arts NJ)


2 years ago, in the last week of July, I tore my ACL and my lateral and medial meniscus. After surgery, rehab, and general life bumps in the road, I am finally back to training BJJ. I never caught my breath once during the whole class but I went and it was awesome and I am so happy to be back on the mats. Purple belt, here I come!!
#training #martialarts #injury #recovery #bjj #ACL (at Satori Academy of Martial Arts NJ)

Woah, it’s been a year since I posted!


Hi!  Is there anyone out there?

I have to be honest, I had completely forgotten about my blog, until last week someone commented on one of my posts and I received an email notification.  Oh yea, that blog I used to write…so I approved the comment and then I promptly forgot again.  Then this morning, as I lay in bed, enjoying sleeping in (I am a teacher in NJ and we have off this Thursday and Friday for a teacher’s convention) I came across a blog for a writer that I really like and wanted to follow.

Since the end of Google Reader I haven’t really been reading a whole lot of blogs…but then I remembered that Word Press had a way to add blogs you followed, even non-Word Press blogs.  So…..I dug through the dusty remains of my memory to find my username and password and sign myself in.  *sneeze*  There is a lot of dust in there!

As I scrolled through the sites I have subscribed to (but haven’t read in a year or more), I remembered why I started blogging in the first place:  To find more female BJJ people.  Because I was concerned about doing BJJ, a typically male sport, and I was a girl.  Was there something wrong with me?  And, I was greatly relieved to find this giant community of female BJJ bloggers out there that let me know I was not alone.

In the past year, I’ve gone through a bunch of life changes.  (I know, this is out of left field, but if you are still with me, I promise it connects.  Eventually.)  I was accepted to a science teacher fellowship program for “teacher leaders.”  I made a huge decision to stop teaching the marching band I have taught as my side job for the past 10 years so I can have more time for my niece, nephew, and training. (Time is more precious then money.  Lesson Learned). I received my advanced brown belt in my karate classes, and I am hoping to be able to test for my black belt April 2015.  There has been an ongoing fight in my family to get my parents to move into a smaller, more manageable property (they currently live on 4 acres of land, and are 84 and 78, respectively).

There are a lot of things occuring that I would benefit from reflecting on and sharing with others to help gain perspective.  And maybe there is something I am going through that might help someone else know they are not alone. (See, I told you to hang in there!)

So, I am making a resolution to get back into blogging.  I really enjoyed it when I was posting on a regular basis, and I think that now is a good time for me to get back into the swing of things.  So I am putting “write blog post” in my Any.do calender, and see what happens.  Yay!

See You Soon!