Competition Time: Part II...

I needed to cut weight for a BJJ tournament, so I tried to relinquish my usual self-reward system of chocolate and craft beer. I did this pretty successfully and I made my fighting weight of 12 stone and 12 pounds with a bit to spare.

On getting back from the event, the Missus was chuffed it had gone OK and she took me to the pub for a couple of pints. The celebratory treat also ran to a couple of packets of over-priced cashew nuts. She was even quite effusive about my performance.

'It sounds like you had a good day. You gave 14 years to two opponents and won one fight and lost the other by the narrowest of margins,' she says, politely ignoring the comprehensive loss of my third fight.

I then show the Missus my podium picture. She smiles and says she is quite proud of me. This must be what proper men who do heroic deeds feel like all the time. I head to the toilet. I return from the loo. The pub table has nuts all over it. The pride-in-husband look has gone from my wife's face.

She waits for me to sit down before it begins.

'You've opened the nuts the wrong way. Who opens nuts along the side instead of the top? You fucking idiot!'

Back to normal then...

Competition Time: Part I...

Since taking redundancy, I've trained consistently hard at my new BJJ gym in Guildford. I've probably trained more consistently here in the last six months than at any other point in my martial arts life. It obviously helps that the pressures of work are not interfering, but it's just been an absolute blast to put the hours in. 

Most of the belts my level and above pretty comprehensively murder me at the gym, and several of the white belts are rapidly improving and catching me in submissions, too. But BJJ remains an utter joy. You can't have an ego doing it. You've just got to continue rolling and learning. I've also been doing No Gi for about six months, too, which is faster and has different handles to get to grips with. 

I've had such a good time here that I decided I'd compete again, so I entered the Brighton Open in the No Gi, Gi Absolutes and Gi categories. I had no idea what to expect in the No Gi, but I felt I had a decent chance in the Gi category if I was fighting in my age bracket. 

Up first was the No Gi. I fought a muscled opponent 15 years younger and quickly got full guard. I defended the position and tried a couple of attack and sweeps. I got an advantage point up and I scraped the win. There were only two of us the category so I got Gold. An unexpected win.

I then had a six-hour wait until I fought in the Absolutes in Gi. I again got full guard early and I tried a couple of sweeps and attacks. But after five minutes, the match was pointless so it went to a referee's decision. I lost this, but I was sort of happy enough. Even though I was exhausted.

I then had ten minutes until my Gi fight in my age category. I was feeling OK about this, but it didn't go to plan. I got the opponent in my guard, then I just made daft mistake after daft mistake. I'd been very disciplined in my previous fights, but I lost that mental discipline in this fight. I have no complaints about losing. He was better than me on the day. I'm just annoyed I screwed up and made life difficult for myself.

But competition is always tough and I had two good fight performances out of three. Next time out, my discipline and game plan will be getter and my gas tank will be better because I'll drop the Absolutes and just compete in two events. 

The best thing about the whole day, though, was the level of support I got from my fellow team-mates. It was contagious and I certainly returned the favour when they were fighting. Everyone I saw fight from the gym tried their nuts off and there were notable successes for quite a few people. But even the ones who didn't medal went out and tested themselves and will be better for it. 

A rising tide floats all boats. And improving standards and greater fighting experience gathered at this event will hopefully mean all our ships are on the move.

Three Times Tables...

I wrote a short play and put it on at Guildford Fringe Festival as part of a new writing showcase last week. It was a 15-minute comedy featuring characters I'd played with before and I also chose to direct for the first time in 20 years. 

I made the decision very early on that I was going to hire three professional actors/friends I'd worked with before. The reasoning behind this was that I'd be working with good people and, if my writing wasn't up to scratch, then at least their performances would cover my inadequacies and help make the show better. 

The good news was that they were great. The script was quite good, too. 

I also did this as a sort of test run to see if I wanted to properly create and direct my own work again and I think the answer is 'Yes'. So I'm planning to do a full-length show involving the same three characters again next year and I'm hoping to get the same cast. 

I now just have to work out what the value of it all is and how I can make it work to showcase my comedy writing and attract an agent. Because it's good to do good work with good people. But it would be better to do it as part of a cohesive strategy that may get me somewhere further up the ladder.

A Content Consumer Recommends...

Here are some things I am watching, reading or listening to at the moment that I think are very good. You may agree, disagree or not care. All of those are fine.

Films

The Girl with All the Gifts: Under-rated sci-fi thriller with a brain and an eco conscience. Sennia Nanua is incredibly good in the lead role as the girl who just might be able to save humanity from a fungal infection that is threatening mankind. Paddy Considine, Gemma Arterton and Glenn Close also star.

The Silence: Stanly Tucci leads an impressive ensemble cast in this tale of a desperate father doing all he can to save his family when a zombie apocalypse happens. A sleeper hit deserving of a wider audience. 

The Imitation Game: Amazingly good drama telling the story of Alan Turing and his quest to crack the enigma code. Benedict Cumberbatch is brilliant as the maths genius whose homosexuality saw him persecuted, despite playing such a pivotal role in ending World War Two and saving millions of lives.

Music

Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes: End of Suffering: Less drive and less aggression and a bit more mellow tune-smithing makes an album that is still definitely Frank Carter but has bits of more gentle Foo Fighters thrown into the mix. A real grower.

Bruce Springsteen: Western Star: I am a reasonably long-time fan of Springsteen, so any new release is always treated with genuine happiness at From to Paternity Towers. Western Star is a laid-back piece of big vistas and small-town hope with the usual Boss nostalgia and poetry thrown into the mix. Utterly beautiful and entirely captivating. 

Bruce Springsteen: The River: I am fully aware this is considered by many to be his masterpiece, but I've never been a massive fan. I've always preferred the bombast and politics of Born in the USA, and I think The Rising and it's mix of heartbreak and hope remains his finest album to date. I am still endeavouring to get into this, though.

Podcasts

The Royal Court Theatre Podcast: Three seasons of Simon Stephens, who is a bit of a man crush, interviewing the great, the good and the breaking through of British theatre writing. Both informative and inspiring, and Stephens is a funny and knowledgeable host.

TV

Years and Years: Six-part drama from Russell T Davies that follows a family (pictured above) through an invented future in the UK where America drop a nuclear bomb and the right seize power in Britain. Lots of dystopian stuff about politics, refugees and technology, but also amazingly heart-warming stuff about the unconquerable spirit of humanity and the struggles of a tight-knit clan to make it through. A sometimes terrifying and uplifting vision of a world that could well come to pass. Rory Kinnear, Jessica Hynes and Russell Tovey lead an all-star cast, but it's Anne Reid who shines as the family matriarch.

Jessica Jones: Series three provides a disappointing end to a show that started with such promise and confidence. It's still watchable, but it diminished a bit in series two and badly tails off here. It should have ended with a bang and not a whimper. Krysten Ritter is always decent, but even she can't fight against a clunky script. Aneesh Sheth, however, is excellent as the sharp-tongued new receptionist as Alias Investigations. 

Coronation Street: Loving David Platt and Nick Tilsley at war, and I could genuinely sob at the still touching relationship between Roy Cropper and recovering Carla Connor.

New Rules...

I've been trying to nutshell a more focused life strategy comprising everything I have learnt in 50 years. But you obviously can't boil everything down to its core components. 

Having said that, I have still tried. So here is my first go at it. In five easy bullet points. Because I understand the need for brevity. 

1) Have a goal 

2) Don't repeat mistakes 

3) Be kind 

4) Don't behave like a cunt

5) Even if other people are

I think that's pretty much it.