What an experience! Worlds is awesome to both compete in and watch! Well, I know a ton of my students in TX, GA and Sweden were watching and didn't get to see but 2 seconds of me on the Budovideos stream so I'll give you a break down guys. My weight was good, I was a pound under at 193.5. Some of the many lessons I learned were 1) I like this weight class, any lower is too light for me and any higher is too big. 2) I want to build more lean muscle and cut even more body fat %. I feel I should've started cutting the weight 2 months ago instead of 3 weeks ago. I felt skinny. I will add some muscle right away. (HA! Jake from BudoVideos.com just texted me as I am writing this "Get something to eat! You look skinny!") This isn't why I lost or an excuse, simply how I feel about my strength and conditioning.
Anyhow, Gary, my opponent was a respectful and seems like a nice guy. He is from Gracie Barra but I don't know what location. He mentioned to me he really likes my DVDs when we were in the bullpen. I chuckled and said, "Thanks! It's gi today and Worlds so its a whole other animal for me." (The following is as best as I can remember it-I'm sure someone got video or it will be on the Worlds DVD in case I forget anything) We get onto the mats and I'm pressing hard for a takedown so he pulls guard. I really wanted some points with some of my favorite gi throws I train in Sambo class but he didn't give me an opportunity. He transitioned to De la Riva guard, I break grips and I tried back stepping into a kneebar. Fail. In hindsight I should have toe held! I turn back and I believe he swept at that point. I kept pursuing the kneebar 3 or 4 more times. I kept rolling for the knee from turtle. At some point we ended up in 50/50 and I swept him with a 50/50 sweep. Once on top he had an odd angle on me and threatened a collar choke a couple times with no luck. We scrambled and stood. Bruno Bastos and Wesley Gann were coaching me. I kept hearing Wes saying to shoot since he was backpedalling. I suck at shooting and prefer gi throws but I shot anyway. I didn't follow through well, he sprawled and got his arm around my neck and he choked me. It was definitely his day. I was exhausted and confused. In April I was in a Super 8 man in Houston and was relaxed and calm when I fought, no nerves. Right before I shot in I remembered asking myself why I was spent in 4 minutes?!?! I went thru an extensive camp with Nova Uniao, trained twice a day, felt great and practiced rolling 10 minute rounds. Maybe it was nerves because I was at Worlds? Did I drop weight too soon before the fight? I don't know. Either way Gary was a stud and choked me. Hats off to him. He obviously knew my background because he kept shaking my gi saying how it took a lot to come out to Worlds in the gi and compete and how much he respected me for that. He was a class act. I walked over and apologized to Bruno, I should have won. I should have finished a kneebar or toe hold, they were right there. (again this is from memory during a fight so hopefully someone got video so I can learn even more from my mistakes). I lost in the 1st round my fans were probably disappointed and my haters probablly loved it but hey, at least I was there to compete and not sitting behind a keyboard. I will make myself a better fighter from this.
I was seriously pissed but later I was stoked, I learned soooo much. I don't like losing but I think this loss did me well and gave me some serious lessons on high level competitions. Like Babe Ruth said,"Each strike is one swing closer to a homerun." I now know that I need to up my strength and conditioning, stay at this weight instead of 205, am no where near blackbelt, get my butt to more classes and get better at jiu jitsu of course! Get better at passing, calm down, work on my game overall. I want to compete a ton more times this year and come back to the next Worlds stronger in mind, body, spirit and jiu jitsu. I don't just want a blackbelt in BJJ, I want to be an elite blackbelt. That's why I started training with Bruno Bastos in Dallas. Jamie Walsh, whom I got my rank from and is a JJ Machado bb, is a phenomenal coach, teacher and person but fact of the matter is he is in Cali and I am in TX. I need to get beat up everyday not once a quarter or 6 months. I know Jamie could make me a world champ if I was still in LA with him but sadly I am not. Another thing I got out of training with the guys from Nova such as Marcelinho Freitas, Rodrigo Feijao, Robson Moura, Daniel Garcia, Will Diaz and more is I want to visit some of the great instructors schools of NU and go train in Brazil.
I didn't feel a thing in the fight but a couple hours later my knee was a little sore. Pfshhhh..I woke up this morning and could barely walk and it's swollen! Guess something happened. Oh well, I was going to take a week or two off for family time anyway. I have been teaching in the mornings, then training at Bruno's and then rolling at my school again at night since February getting ready for the Super 8 man and then Worlds. It's even my wife and I's anniversary today and she needs some attention. She has stood by me and helped out extra so I could train my butt off for my recent tourneys. Rupture's Super 8 man I got third but no hardware from Worlds.
Worlds was SICK to watch! Marcelo Garcia, Abmar, Ramulo, Tarsis, Bastos, Roger, Cyborg, Cavaca, Malfacine, Dimencia, Xande, Cooper, Cobrinha, Mendes.... but that is another blog. I gotta get some sleep and catch a plane in the morning.
Never Quit
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Team Trinity NAGA Texas 2nd Place!!!
Man o man am I one proud coach! We went to NAGA with a very strong kids/teens team May 22nd and ranked 2nd in the kids/teens division! My kids put in lots of hours and won because they are well disciplined, listened to the coaching and have great technique! The proof is in the pudding people! Watch out for Team Trinity in Texas! I would say Justin Alkins was our standout of the day because he was down on points in the gi, swept, mounted and pulled off the armbar with 6 seconds left. Very exciting match! Congrats to all my people at Trinity!!! Be on the lookout for my adults at Fight to Wins and Grapplers Quest this summer!
another fun fact...EVERY person medaled at NAGA kid and adult. with only 20 competitors we brought home 36 medals including a expert division belt!!!
God bless and bless others....
another fun fact...EVERY person medaled at NAGA kid and adult. with only 20 competitors we brought home 36 medals including a expert division belt!!!
God bless and bless others....
2010 BJJ Worlds pt 1
I am so stoked to be headed out to Cali to compete at the Mundials tomorrow! Nova Uniao instructors and black belts such as Marcelinho Freitas, Bruno Bastos, Rodrio 'Feijao', Robson Moura, Daniel Garcia and Chris Westfall were in Dallas to train, teach and get everyone ready for this years Worlds. Many other high level rollers attended when they could including Travis Lutter and Hillary Williams. The camp was awesome and I feel great! My weight is good, I'm healthy and ready to rock n roll down in Cali.
I am sure there are plenty of people who are interested in seeing me compete in the gi. I have been back in the gi since about a week after I split with 10th Planet and Eddie Bravo, over a year now. I recently competed in a Super 8 Man tourney down in Houston (Nogi) and placed 3rd but this is the gi mundials. I wanted to wait till I felt comfortable enough to compete in the gi. Now I feel great! I roll well against brown and blacks in the gi in the gym so it's time to put myself to the test. When I competed at NAGA I was Mr Fade to Black, Eddie's 1st affiliate, the face of 10PJJ after Eddie, Eddie saying I was top 3 for his blackbelt blah blah blah...I was unbelievably nervous for that match. I was talking to Mike, the guy who beat me for 3rd at NAGA the other day at Lutters and we talking about how nervous I was. At the Super 8 I wasn't nervous at all, thats why I performed well. I am not going into this one nervous either. I'm just having fun again, no pressure.
The haters will always be haters. Especially the 10PJJ guys, they just hate, research peoples profiles, pull pics from other websites, say what they want and try to make it truth, make cartoons, say vile things about my wife and kid and yet call me scum, you name it and I shouldn't even say 10PJJ guys, it's more like just a couple of them and a couple who aren't and I can care less what they say. So for those guys who talk about the 'revolution' yup gentlemen I eat my words. NO REVOLUTION! Lmbo! I ate those words the day I put a gi back on and a kurtka. I eat them 10 times over everyday I train with world champion jiu jitsu practitioners who wreck me, everyday I get visitors from Alliance, Gracie Barra and many other schools and we train gi. It's crazy being in and then out. Now I have my eyes reopened to how basics are a must, relying on a physical attribute is poor jiu jitsu. As Ryan Hall said, "it should be a bonus to your jiu jitsu not your only jiu jitsu." That tripped me out when a guy who can triangle himself said that to me when at my school. Relying on certain techs is not a good thing in my opinion now too. Rely on your foundation, that is sturdy. Posture, dont be on your back in half, passing the guard, combat base, escapes, positional dominance, space creates escape, clinch isnt always best, nogi is not mma, takedowns. Tricks are awesome and sometimes needed but they should be flavor, not your meat and potatoes.
On the flip side, I have many awesome people everyday who email and call me, message me on FB, myspace, youtube and my website with positive feedback, motivation, compliments and encouragement. Thats why I stay in this sport and industry. I love jiu jitsu! My students SMASH tournaments and fights which makes me so proud as well! My student base keeps growing and growing and I must say I have been blessed. Our last NAGA we had 20 competitors bring home 36 medals and a belt! Woohoo so proud!
keep checking back I will write when I can
Never Quit
I am sure there are plenty of people who are interested in seeing me compete in the gi. I have been back in the gi since about a week after I split with 10th Planet and Eddie Bravo, over a year now. I recently competed in a Super 8 Man tourney down in Houston (Nogi) and placed 3rd but this is the gi mundials. I wanted to wait till I felt comfortable enough to compete in the gi. Now I feel great! I roll well against brown and blacks in the gi in the gym so it's time to put myself to the test. When I competed at NAGA I was Mr Fade to Black, Eddie's 1st affiliate, the face of 10PJJ after Eddie, Eddie saying I was top 3 for his blackbelt blah blah blah...I was unbelievably nervous for that match. I was talking to Mike, the guy who beat me for 3rd at NAGA the other day at Lutters and we talking about how nervous I was. At the Super 8 I wasn't nervous at all, thats why I performed well. I am not going into this one nervous either. I'm just having fun again, no pressure.
The haters will always be haters. Especially the 10PJJ guys, they just hate, research peoples profiles, pull pics from other websites, say what they want and try to make it truth, make cartoons, say vile things about my wife and kid and yet call me scum, you name it and I shouldn't even say 10PJJ guys, it's more like just a couple of them and a couple who aren't and I can care less what they say. So for those guys who talk about the 'revolution' yup gentlemen I eat my words. NO REVOLUTION! Lmbo! I ate those words the day I put a gi back on and a kurtka. I eat them 10 times over everyday I train with world champion jiu jitsu practitioners who wreck me, everyday I get visitors from Alliance, Gracie Barra and many other schools and we train gi. It's crazy being in and then out. Now I have my eyes reopened to how basics are a must, relying on a physical attribute is poor jiu jitsu. As Ryan Hall said, "it should be a bonus to your jiu jitsu not your only jiu jitsu." That tripped me out when a guy who can triangle himself said that to me when at my school. Relying on certain techs is not a good thing in my opinion now too. Rely on your foundation, that is sturdy. Posture, dont be on your back in half, passing the guard, combat base, escapes, positional dominance, space creates escape, clinch isnt always best, nogi is not mma, takedowns. Tricks are awesome and sometimes needed but they should be flavor, not your meat and potatoes.
On the flip side, I have many awesome people everyday who email and call me, message me on FB, myspace, youtube and my website with positive feedback, motivation, compliments and encouragement. Thats why I stay in this sport and industry. I love jiu jitsu! My students SMASH tournaments and fights which makes me so proud as well! My student base keeps growing and growing and I must say I have been blessed. Our last NAGA we had 20 competitors bring home 36 medals and a belt! Woohoo so proud!
keep checking back I will write when I can
Never Quit
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