Woooohoooooo...

OK I think I have it figured out. Thanks to Donguan who provided the link to the host site. I tried it out and the only drawback is that you have to wait about 30 seconds before you can download it. Thanks also to HighwindNY who helped me get the file down to about 3 MB.

I tried it and it seems to work, but if anyone has problems let me know.

Also... I tried it out and nothing seeemed fishy, but if you start getting ads for male enhancement products and quick easy bachelors degrees... don't blame me, just run adaware or something lol.

Oh yeah... and I'm pretty sure I already see all the mistakes I made, but if you see something besides 1. My foot position in the mount (Never mount with your feet flat like mine, it's a good way to break an ankle if they manage to roll you. The only time I might have had an excuse was when he was trying to Arm Trap and Roll and was trying to trap my foot to take away my base. 2. My sloppy pulldown into the guard (he was slipperier than expected) 3. My lack of commitment in the armbar from the guard right before the ankle grab sweep... then let me know. (especially all the Martial artists and Jiu Jitsu guys).

And as for pulling into the guard right off the bat instead of using a good takedown... It's not good technique, but we don't teach the soldiers takedowns until much later because of the risk of injury, and I like to start from the guard anyway, especially when I'm fairly confident about my opponent. You can't practice sweeps if you're already in the mount.

The guy I'm fighting is great. Regardless of how many times I kick his ass (I hope he reads this) he keeps bringing it. It's hard to find opponents sometimes, but he's always ready to go. It's funny because we talk smack at work and anytime we get near each other around soldiers they start watching to see if we're gonna roll.

I guess I should set the stage by telling you that I didn't know we were going to fight this time until I was ass over teakettle. I was talking to my soldiers and he blindsided me like Lawrence Taylor in the crack years. Luckily I rolled and came up pretty quickly or he would've been all over me. The soldiers loved it, they were going nuts after he hit me and all through the fight.

Anyway, download it, check it out, and hopefully you enjoy it. This si the first one we've gotten on tape. I think we're going to set up something next cycle when I'm in Echo where he dresses in civilian clothes (The soldiers in E Co won't know who he is) and blindsides me. Maybe even get one of those fake beer bottles made of sugar like they use in the movies. We might use it to get their attention during UAC1. I don't know if we can make it work but at the very least we'll try to tape the next fight.

One last thing...

Big thanks to Candice, who is the videographer and photographer for C Co's training and exploits... not to mention provider of lunch and gatorade when the Drills are too busy to get away from training.

OK... anyway, without further blithering, here it is...



http://rapidshare.de/files-en/417433/jack_vs_sperling-1.wmv.html

UAC...

Does anyone know how to post video on either xanga or blogspot? I haven't tried yet, or even looked into it, but if it's relatively easy then I'll post a fight between me and another Drill that we got on tape.



Here's one of my soldiers winning a fight with a straight arm bar...

Back to Echo...

I know I haven't been writing much lately. It's been pretty busy with BRM and everything. The privates picked it up in the end and did well overall. Maybe not as well as some platoons have done in the past, but they made great strides from the dismal start they had. Overall I'm pretty satisfied.

Sometimes I feel like there's nothing left to write about concerning Basic Training. It's like that movie "Groundhog Day" but without the good days. Same ranges, same privates, same problems, same successes... blah. I've been here too long. I'm not saying it's all bad, I just need to get back to the Infantry.

I've explained it like this before...

I like to play PuttPutt with my kids. It really is enjoyable for me, but mainly because I like to see them have a good time. On the other hand, it's like I play PuttPutt all day every day while all my friends are all playing the US Open. I still like seeing them have a good time, but the new has definitely worn off for me. It's less of a challenge and more of a grind than it used to be.

It's the same way with BCT. I genuinely enjoy seeing them become soldiers, but that new car smell is gone. I can see why this is normally a two year tour. (Without the involuntary third year extension that I got.)

Well, change is in the air, and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be going back to E Co in a few days. That should be plenty challenging enough to keep it interesting for a while. Echo is a different sort of animal with it's own unique challenges. I hate to leave the platoon I've got now, but they are almost done and the most important part is the foundation you lay in the beginning anyway. They'll be in good hands without me.