My favorite training partners are playful, communicative, and create a challenge without recklessly increasing our injury risk. It helps me trust that we are both invested in helping one another grow.

I don’t until I get blood on it bc I’m somewhat superstitious. The last time I washed my belt, I forgot everything 😂. 

Daniel Bianchi 👀👂

Russell Usauskas I’m sold ✍️

I would come to more open mats if we played some girly pop, reggaeton, or some 80s alternative. 

I could probably manage those things better. I think like Russ pointed out, us younger blue belts tend to sacrifice pressure and strategy for "speed". Doing more NoGi has helped me really think about the pressure aspect since there is much less to use for grips. Getting stuck in bottom mount forces me to think more about strategy-- spending less time defending a threat that hasn't presented, utilizing small spaces to escape. All things I'm thinking about and trying to implement in my training and make a habit. The hardest part so far has been recognizing those mistakes as I'm making them in sparring.

Ankle lock or knee bar because no one expects me to know how to do it lol

Wooo can't wait!

I have been trying to do it more, and it definitely does help me make better decisions when I 'm focused on feel and not what I see. 

Eating more whole foods, prioritizing protein, taking supplements, monitoring my sleep patterns, strength training at least 3x/week off the mats. The sleep and supplements have been helping me tremendously with recovery.

I watch ROLTV when I have specific questions or want to try to work on something from home. I also purchased some mats a couple of months ago so I could do solo drills for extra practice.