This coming week I will be commentating live in English for the Fury FC in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This event is one of the best in Brazil (tied with Jungle FC) and the fights are going to be good as two GPs come to a close disputing the belts for 70 and 84 kilo weight classes + ‘Nino’ Schembri is back in the World of Vale Tudo to compete in this edition of Fury FC.
Monday the 24th was Edu Pachu’s birthday…Edu, a very dedicated athlete and father has been a great training partner and a good guy. No wild nights or parties for this birthday, just an afternoon lunch of salad and chicken as he is in preperation for the Lightweight GP in the December edition of Fury FC. Edu is one of the people who over the years has made me feel less like an outsider and more like one of the team. Happy birthday and best of luck in the GP finals!
Yesterday afternoon ‘Zen’ Mario talked balance in Jiu-Jitsu between conditioning, technique and the mind of an athlete…A much appreciated good conversation that directly applies to progression as an athlete and martial artist. Key points being how an individual uses the time in the academy to get the most out of each session in a constant progression and mindset for competition. He even put on the kimono and trained for a couple rounds before breaking down technique behind one of his specialties. Meeting Sperry for the first time at a seminar in ‘99 I did not imagine he would one day be a face in my daily life.
As the results from Rafael’s fight are in I see in the play by play how close he came to finishing Stephens. Things don’t always go as planned and a good showing will add experience and opportunities to continue his quest in the UFC. I am looking forward to seeing what’s next.
The Copo Novo Leblon took place a couple weeks ago but it deserved a post regardless!
This really turned out to be a good championship put together by Gordo and Rabco. The majority of competitors from both the Largo da Barra and Novo Leblon academies represented well on the mat, while academy members showed up in force to show their support.
From the Largo da Barra academy; Deigo Robalo, Pedro Paulo (now known as ‘He Man’), ‘Ze Carioca’, and Pedrinho all won their divisions.
Last Week I had the pleasure of interviewing Alex Davis for ITG. Davis is an athlete turned fight manager who knows the game inside and out. In narrowly missing the cut for Olympic Judo competition he set the dream aside later realizing that with the right guidance he could have kept pushing and competed in the games. Now, having experienced the life of a fighter first hand, his grasp on the fightworld is strong and he has a genuine desire to help athletes succeed, making their dreams a reality. It is good to see someone like him looking out for fighters and helping them to find their direction.
As a child involved in Karate and other martial arts I envisioned traveling to Japan, China, the Philippines, Thailand to study the arts from their sources. When the time and opportunities in life evolved, Jiu-Jitsu became my art, Brazil the country of origin (giving due credit to Japan for bringing it here to the Gracies) became my destination. Like in my imagination as a child I meet and train with the masters and great athletes in the art. Also similar to what I imagined as a child experiencing the culture has been an equally important part of this picture. There is much more to Brazil than what many visitors would think and once again the life style that surrounds Jiu-Jitsu plays a part in my involvement in this beautiful city. As a foreigner there are many customs that are (or where) not familiar to me and where necessary to learn in order to adapt to life here in and outside the academy. From the prospective of an outsider to the best of my abilities I bring the positive, most usable aspects of my life here to blend here. Structure in training as used in the US has been of great value in the academy. Being able to relax and flow with life is something Brazil is teaching me. The balance between positive aspects of the cultures and where to apply them is the part only learned through experience…So here I am, “now” living a dream and building an experience to share and use in developing the art of Jiu-Jitsu and in society. Something once taught to me as a teenager by Steve Yerger and Cliff Tayor was to “empty your cup in” order to learn something new with an unbiased open mind. To see the new idea with a desire to learn and understand it. This has been helpful in many situations with no acceptation here. Rorian Grace, thank you for holding the Gracie Open that really did change my life. John Machado, thank you for helping me to see Jiu-Jitsu as my art.
Not long ago after night training I walked the mile to stand at a bus stop and wait for the ride home. This night my chosen bus was one with a more direct route that drops me closer to home and tends to move faster. There happened to be a group of hip-hop dancers outside of a nearby English school for a party that was holding my attention away from the road and arriving buses. When a bus passed by some time later I nearly missed it but managed to flagged him down…Entering the vehicle (stopped in the middle of a two lane road) I thanked the driver who although looking directly at me, almost drove past. After telling me he almost chose not to, the driver began to tell me about a car he believed to be following him, who’s drivers where possibly Federal Police and asked if it would be alright to drive straight to my stop. Sure, I said telling him where my stop was. He began barreling down the two lane road weaving in and out of cars as if he was driving a race car in an attempt to loose the car he thought was following the 50ft yellow and white bus. The two other passengers seemed a little tense but nothing out of the ordinary. As we sped through the bairros as he past the bus stops and the yelling pedestrians who frequently signed him with a big finger high above their heads… right into a traffic jam that allowed some of them to chase after the bus yelling and slapping the side. The driver allowed a couple of passengers on and the traffic cleared enough for him to push forward all the while revving his engine and lurching forward into the cars, in an attempt to push through the jam. He then hit the back of a van and bumped into another car, completely ignoring the reaction of the other motorists. As the cars thinned he sped on toward my stop. Within a few blocks of my destination I yelled out to him and he opened the door on the move, slowing the bus (but not stopping) to the speed of a fast walk as I jumped out on the move. Although the this exact type of scenario is not common (for me), there is always something out of the ordinary happening here every day.
Brazil, always an adventure!