As I made the eight-hour drive to Vegas, I thought through all the scenarios that could occur this weekend at the Xtreme Couture MMA Camp. Randy could recognize all of my fighting potential and invite me to live and train with him. Randy could simply be overwhelmed by my personality so much so that he invites me to hang out all weekend with him at his home (or tag along as he makes appearances, signs his new book, or goes out meeting people and choking them unconscious for photos). Finally, if nothing else, I figure he will want to spar with me. This is where I knock him out, feel awful, and offer not to tell anyone about it on the condition that all the above scenarios come true. Regardless of these daydreams, I am feeling pretty nervous about the weekend and wondering whether this is all too soon. I mean: I am only five months into my training. But, who knows? Maybe this weekend will be like those Fantasy Baseball Camps where everyone is super old and only a few more bratwursts away from a heart attack. I could end up being the most in-shape and skilled person at this thing! Yeah, that’s it!
In actuality, the first night of camp turned out to be none of the above. Although, there were some older guys living out the “fantasy” thing, most of the participants were in the twenty or thirty age bracket and in reasonably good shape. We worked numerous wrestling drills: single leg takedowns, double leg takedowns, and a final technique from the clinch. The best part of the night was getting to slam someone against the cage fence. The resultant springboard effect helped propel my opponent into an easier takedown (and made it seem like I knew what I was doing).
Randy was assisted by Jay Hieron who recently signed with Affliction after spending the last couple years with the now-defunct IFL. Randy was just as humble and soft-spoken as he appeared to be on TV. In fact, with the constant airliner traffic passing over the gym, it was often very difficult to hear him at all. He is a gracious host, though, and spent almost an hour after practice answering any and all questions. Tomorrow is more Randy in the morning and then jiu-jitsu black belt Robert Drysadle in the afternoon.
So, what was making me look good on Friday night: repeatedly hoisting a 300 pound guy up in the air for take downs, now makes me irritated on Saturday. My partner is short, thick, and out of shape. Furthermore, he’s as flexible as a fire hydrant. So, when we drill jiu-jitsu and wrestling on the mat, it’s ugly. He can’t secure a triangle choke. He’s very awkward in his movements. He’s huffing and puffing instantly. It sucks. However, I was in the same boat a few months ago. I simply wish I had chosen someone else to team with. The good part of the day was that Randy signed autographs and posed for pictures all through lunch. He had another engagement and left afterwards. Randy was a very patient coach, and I feel extremely fortunate to have been a part of this training seminar. A highlight of my life will be getting picked up and slammed a few times by Randy Couture.
Jay and Robert led the final day. We practiced jiu-jitsu, and our final session was grappling with the ultra-small, fingerless, MMA gloves. The experience was quite different for me. The gloves got in the way of my submission attempts, but also helped in defending my opponent’s attempts.
I drove home excited to be able to share new techniques with my school, Durango Martial Arts, and I began to think about how to implement better visualization methods in my daily life.
