This week was a combination of being really busy, and then hanging out with family. On Monday, I had an audition for a student film, where they handed me new sides at the door and had me do the scene twice, with absolutely no notes between the two takes, so I wasn’t sure if I should do it the same or make adjustments. I mostly reacted off what the reader was giving me, but also took my time rather than rushing through my lines as I often do.
As soon as I was done with the audition, I drove over to 4 points BJJ for my first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class with GI. I felt like the pressure was on, because I couldn’t exactly stick to my being new at this, I would be expected to remember some of the techniques I learnt two weeks ago, if not by them, then at least by me. Luckily, even the things I had learnt had small variations, now that there was something to grip on to, so I got a refresher course. One class turned into 2, with rolling, so I ended up being there for 2 and a half hours rather than the hour I had expected. And at no point did I feel like I was done and wanted to go home. I learnt all kinds of techniques and rolled with many different guys. Other than the first guy in my NOGI class, pretty much everyone I have been paired with has waited for me to make the first move, then sort of coached me into positions and moves and getting the upper hand. This is awesome and I so appreciate them taking the time to teach me new things instead of just sending me straight to the floor, but at the same time, it’s not the same rolling everyone else is doing. Thankfully, Ayisha got this, so for my last pairing, she told the guy to challenge me more, to get the upper hand so I can realize what doesn’t work, what happens when I let someone get the advantage over me, and so I can think on my feet and get out of tough situations. It was definitely more of a struggle, but it was also so much fun.
After class, Ayisha and I had a long talk about my training plans, the classes I want to take, and how the studio can use more girls trying something new. I left with a lot of advice, and the knowledge that there are a lot of cool things on the horizon!
On Tuesday, I woke up so early to get to Niagara for a Mounted Combat and Stunts Workshop. I’ll make a post just about that day, but in the meantime, here are some pictures of me putting my yoga and ballet dabbling to good use…
On Wednesday I was back at 4 Points BJJ for their 6 am boxing class, which was more bootcamp than boxing, but exactly what I needed. It was hard and I had to keep going even when I wanted to give up, but I felt incredibly accomplished afterwards. There was also a point during the workout where I became convinced I have no core, only to realize in the following days that I did, because so many things became a lot harder after this class, when my core no longer worked. I exaggerate, but only slightly. The last 15 minutes or so were actually spent boxing. Maybe it was because we were only 2 of us at this point, but Ryan, the teacher, took the time to teach us the proper stance, the footwork and armwork for jabs, crosses and hooks. These aren’t really foreign concepts for me, but this was still the first of my boxing workouts to concentrate on proper form and making sure we got it right every time. I was initially planning on just going to 4 points BJJ for the Jiu-Jitsu, but now I think I might head there at the crack of dawn to get my ass whooped (in the best way possible) a few times a week.
That evening, we had a dress rehearsal for Hidden Gems, the variety show I am participating in at an elementary school. I met some really interesting people and was blown away by the talent and charisma in all of these tiny performers.
When it finished, we headed to my first ever Dungeons and Dragons session. I left my character to chance, and ended up with a Fighter, which I thought was super cool, but as a friend pointed out, the elf wizard has way more fighting skills. And magical powers. So lesson learned, but I still had an awesome time, and liked playing the kind of kickass character I am working to be in real life.
On Thursday we did 2 performances of Hidden Gems, which went awesome, and while we couldn’t really watch the other acts again, I did get to participate in an impromptu green room rendition of Riptide, and made suggestions (that never made it to paper) on a song they wrote.
On Friday I drove home to Montreal, where I have been taking care of family things ❤
“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.”
-Babe Ruth
Amanda Lynn Petrin 