I know I haven’t posted much over the past year but I still wanted to do a quick check in on my goals for 2014. As a new father I didn’t get to spend as much time in the gym as I wanted to BUT I did see some significant improvement in my skill level.

Goal #1 CHOKES CHOKES CHOKES!

Last February I said that 2014 was going to be the year of the choke. While I still feel like chokes are not the strongest part of my game, I have made huge improvements this year. My Darce and Head and Arm chokes are probably my two strongest right now. I’ve spent a lot of time dissecting them and figuring out the finer details in the moves. One huge asset has been watching Ryan Hall’s Arm Triangles dvd. Like most of Ryan’s material, it really focuses on the concepts behind the moves instead of the steps. In fact my last class of 2014 was spent teaching a lot of what I learned about the head and arm choke to my fellow teammates. One of my main goals last year was to focus on my guillotine. Again while it is not a killer like my Darce and head and arm, I have made big improvement’s in my game. This past year I got a lot better at recognizing when the guillotine is available and grabbing the initial grip. The next step now is to focus on the finishing details.

Goal #2 WORK TOWARDS MY BROWN BELT

Even with a limited training schedule I feel like I have made progress towards my brown belt. This year Coach Alder gave me two stripes and entrusted me to teach several of the advanced classes. Next year I really want to focus on refining the holes in my game. A big area I want to work on is my full guard. Being a bigger guy it’s easy to neglect full guard and just pull half guard and fight to get on top. Knowing that I am looking to challenge my self next year to get into uncomfortable positions. In order to earn my brown belt I know I’m going to need to step out of my comfort zone.

Goal #3 IMPROVE MY CARDIO AND OVERALL FITNESS

Ahhh the generic goal. I’d rate this goal at a meh. Like most of us I go in an out of improving my fitness. Some weeks I’m really good and some weeks I’m horrible. I’m hoping 2015 will be a better year diet and fitness wise.

So there you go. A review of my goals for 2014. Some I was able to achieve and others…..yeah. In a few days I’ll be posting my goals for 2015. If you haven’t already make sure to start thinking of yours!