Pain Pics: Bruised Knees

 Pain turns on the all caps when teaching me stuff I already knew.

I was in a guy's guard, hopped a sweep and instead of landing on my feet, like every drill ever has tried to pound into my head, I drove both knees into the mat. Hard. - I did pass the sweep, though, so there's that.

Stuff I Learned:

• Never land on my knees. 
• I can ice my knees discreetly in public if I put an ice pack in the bottom of my purse
• I need 2 knee ice packs because I can't choose a "favorite" knee. I like them both.
• Take time off when injured. The bruising was covering up a tightness (?) behind my knee cap that I would have hurt if I had worked through the bruise pain.
• Ask. Even when I am pretty sure I know all the answers. *

*It was a Q/A lesson at Combat Base (my online BJJ instruction) a day or so after and I was told I needed to come up with a question. Since I couldn't think of a better one, I asked to see a demo of jumping over a sweep, but right. I got that ... and was asked if there was a reason I wasn't wearing knee pads. Yeah, because it never occurred to me, everyone I've seen wears them because they have a knee problem, not to prevent one. The people in my club have this vast plethora of knowledge and are willing to share it with me, if I just don't assume I know everything. Or I could just hurt myself more and learn the hard way. 

The Care and Feeding of Murder Dolls

 (Stuffing a Grappling Dummy)

I bought a real grappling dummy to keep my other murder doll company and to provide weighted resistance in passing and side control during online training (Wa-hoo for my Combat Base membership!). I decided to stuff it with a 50 lbs. of whole corn and various household object to give it the most human feeling reactions. An empty murder doll is hungry murder doll.

Problem: If I just poured the corn straight into the dummy, it would pool in the freakishly long legs leaving my fighting a pair of 50 lb sentient pants instead of a humanoid susceptible to chokes, arm bars and getting punched in the face. Sentient pants may very well be a no win situation.

Solution: Fill a series of 'bean' bags with corn in the feet, hands, arms, articulated legs, etc., alternate with pool noodles in areas that need volume without weight, and a bit of polyfill keep the pieces from being lumpy!

But..... to make it REALLY realistic to fight..... I made the body corn bags in the shapes of human organs. For realism.

Stuffed viscera is absolutely a thing! I didn't even add weird faces to organs! (maybe next time)

The lungs are filled with pollyfill instead of corn so that I can feel the chest compress in side control!

I also gave it some tattoos to make it tough! So tough! Nothing says "I'm a hot shot BBJ murder doll" more than a rainbow poop emoji tattoo on your posterior or a black belt club tramp stamp.

Someday it may even win a match. It has a lot of heart. I know because I stuffed one in its chest cavity myself.

Stuffing a Grappling Dummy with 'Murica

 

I had an epiphany that the cheapest thing to stuff my new weighted dummy with is also the most 'Murican: Corn