Goal Achieved
Over the weekend, I accomplished my goal of competing in six grappling tournaments. Don’t be fooled by the image. There were only three people in the division. I ended up getting triangle choked by the second place guy. It was only the second time I’ve ever been submitted in gi competition.
I ended up winning my first match in the no-gi absolute division by a score of 7-2. I lost the second match by a very close margin of 4-2. I was really happy about my takedowns in both of the no-gi matches.
Today, I went back to training for the first time since the tournament, and I feel like I picked up some skill. My old instructor, Jacare, used to say that competing in one tournament equals about six months of practice experience.
New Gym
I’ve been working out at Unit 2 Fitness for almost a month, and I can’t really say the classes there have been enjoyable. Almost everybody I have trained with there has been tough, and a few people are handing me my ass. I wouldn’t say that I wanted this, but I needed this. One of my goals is to get a legitimate black belt, and I need to train at a place where I’m getting challenged constantly.
Since I’ve arrived at Unit 2 Fitness, I’ve been training with mostly brown and black belts, and I’m pretty thankful for that. I’m a lazy grappler by nature, and these guys make me work hard. I don’t like to work hard, but everybody knows success always follows hard work.
This year, I set a goal of competing in six grappling tournaments. So far, I have competed in five. This weekend will be number six, The Copa America Grappling Championships. I plan on doing two divisions, the absolute no-gi and the purple belt gi division. All of this will be one step closer to getting my black belt.
No Rest for the Weary
Surprisingly, I needed only two days to recover from my 26.2 mile run. I was back working out the following Wednesday. I signed up for the Grapplers Quest Tournament on Sunday, November 6th, so I needed to return to training soon. I got three days of grappling in before the tournament.
I ended up taking first place in the HEAVYWEIGHT purple belt gi division. I’m not big enough to be a heavyweight, but there was nobody in my weight division, so I had to jump up two division and grapple people who weighed over 210 pounds.
I competed in the absolute no-gi division as well. I submitted my first opponent with a heel hook, lost a close one in my second match on points, and got submitted in my third match by a foot lock.
I’ve competed in five grappling tournaments this year, and I’m looking to do one more in December. I’d like to thank Red Dawn for all of their sponsorship help. Their Slowtivate Relaxation Drink is rather tasty.
Run a Marathon – Check!
Yesterday, I finished my first marathon in 4 hours and 45 minutes. I wasn’t looking to break records. I just wanted to finish a 26.2 mile run. I can tell you it was one of the toughest things in my life to accomplish.
For the first 8 miles, I had a lot of nervous energy. I ran those miles slow, so I would have some energy later on.
From miles 8-16, I was feeling great. I started running faster and even skipped a few of the water and Powerade stops.
After mile 16, it became increasingly harder to run. After mile 20, I found myself walking a good portion of the marathon.
My brother, Nhan, happened to join me around mile 22. It helped out a good bit. He’s always been there to support me. He jogged and walked with me all the way to the finish line. As a matter of fact, he beat me to the finish line and took the picture that you see in this post. I’m extremely lucky to have a brother who shows up at all of my major events.
I’d also like to thank my friend, Tom Dasta, for his hospitality. My girlfriend, Julie, deserves a “thank you” as well. She came to support and waited an hour for me at one spot and over two hours at the finish line just so she could see me pass by.
Completing a marathon is one of my biggest accomplishments in life. It took three months of preparation. It will be my last my last marathon. My body hurts!
Atlanta Marathon and MMA Instructionals
For the last few months, I’ve been training to run a marathon. That’s 26.2 miles. The run will be Sunday, October 30th. I’ve notice my cardio when I’m grappling. I get tired, but I recover pretty quickly. I’ll post some pictures of the run next week.
On another note, check out my new combat sports instructional website. It’s in development right now, but you should be able to find some useful videos to help out your grappling and striking game.
Grappling Tournaments
Since receiving my purple belt, I’ve been doing grappling tournaments more often. In the last few months, I’ve competed in three of them. In each one, I’ve been lucky enough to take a first place. I’ve lost matches in other divisions though. The competition is getting tougher, but anything worthwhile isn’t easy, right? If it was, it wouldn’t be worth it.
Yesterday, I avenged a loss in the purple belt gi division by beating a brown belt and the guy who beat me in the no-gi division. What was even sweeter was that I got the victory by beating him in double overtime. He wasn’t very happy with the loss. The guy was an excellent grappler and I look forward to facing him again.
I’m looking forward to learning more and getting my brown and black belts in the future. I don’t expect them anytime soon. My guard passing needs a lot of work.
I’d like to take the time to thank my sponsors, Red Dawn and Xtreme Xile for the support. Red Dawn has made it possible for me to compete in these tournaments.
Purple Belt
A few weeks ago, I received my purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by Ranieri Paiva at X3 Sports. Some people say that it’s been long overdue. I should have received it years ago, but I went several years grappling without a gi. I do have to say that my grappling has improved a drastic amount since I’ve put the gi back on.
One More Run
My elbow is healing up nicely, and it’s straighter than it has ever been in the last eight years. I’ve had sideline myself from any heavy training over the last week and a half due to a sinus infection. Thanks to some badly needed prescribed meds, I’m feeling a lot better. I’m hoping I’ll get to at least train once this week. Training and working out is so much a part of my lifestyle like cigarettes are to a smoker.
It’s been more than a year since my last fight, and a lot of injuries have healed up. I’ve had a lot of time to think about whether I want to continue to fight or not, and my answer is yes.
Getting Back into Shape
It’s been more than two months since I’ve had surgery, and my progress has been good. It didn’t start out that way though. In the first month, I didn’t feel like I was making any progress. I thought I just wasted my money, but in the second month, I started noticing some changes. Now, I’m into my third month of rehabilitation, and it seems that the progress is speeding up.
I’ve started back with BJJ and boxing at X3 Sports about three weeks ago. When I started back, I was at a whopping 204 pounds. My body fat had increased to 20 percent which is a far cry from the 9.9 percent I was more than a year ago. Things are getting better each day, I’m now at 192 pounds, and I’m giving lessons again.
I’ve moved up to the Smyrna/Marietta area at the beginning of August, but I still travel down to the southside once a week to see family and friends and give lessons.
Surgery and Moving
It’s been quite a while since I’ve updated this blog. I finally decided to get surgery on my right elbow. I’ve developed a significant amount of bone spurs over the last few years. Right now, I’m unable to straighten my right arm. It’s about 30 degrees off from being straight. The surgery is costing me a pretty penny, but I’ll spend the money to get my arm straight again.
My left elbow is starting to develop the same condition, so I may end up getting surgery on it this year as well. What’s that saying? There are some chances that you can’t afford to take, and there are chances that you can’t afford not to take.
I won’t be able to teach any lessons for at least a couple of weeks. I’ll be moving at the end of this month up to Atlanta, but I’ll still give lessons in Newnan and Fayetteville on the weekends if requested. I’m hoping for a speedy recovery, and hopefully I’ll be back in a couple of months training. Injuries have kept me from fighting this year. At this point, I’m just looking to take it one step at a time. Maybe I can have one fight before the end of the year. It could be Pro Boxing or MMA.
