100 days of training bjj

I hate to lose. There is nothing worse than losing a grappling match.
Whether its a Jiu-Jitsu match, Sambo/Judo or wrestling match losing is
a suffocating personal defeat. I'd rather lose the Super Bowl than a
grappling match. At least the Super Bowl I could blame on the kicker.
But when you lose a grappling match you can only blame yourself and
that sometimes is a hard nut to swallow. I lost at the last Boston
Open to a younger guy after working a rather heavy truck week coming
off an injury. I was ill prepared to give this guy the fight he
deserved. I didn't train enough as I was too focused on teaching the
kids. That's my fault and now I must make changes to not experience
that suffocating feeling again.

So I'm going to take a page from my cousin in-law Kristin. Shes a
violin teacher and mentioned about practicing for 100 days. When I
first heard it I was impressed. Practing anything for 100 days is
tough. practicing Jiu-Jitsu for 100 days will be exhausting and may
make me a bit nuts. However this seems like the perfect preperation
for my master division Purple debut.

So the plan is this. 100 days of Jiu-jitsu and Yoga to improve my
flexabilty. Everyday will be drilling, or rolling or yoga with
hopefully some Sambo to recover. 100 continuous days of rolling will
be murder. I've recruited Frank for Sundays. As this approaches I will
set out a plan for how I will spend the 100 days in a week by week. id
like to blog everyday but who knows how that will go.


Rezem por mim

Forgiveness Vespers

Yesterday was forgiveness sunday in the Orthodox church. This is one
of the most unusual services in the Orthodox church. It is very
personal and touching but not for the faint of heart. At the
conclusion of the service the Priest first will ask forgiveness of the
community. Then begins the long process of the community forgiving
each other. In this tradition a line is formed and the first person
will approach the priest and make a bow(similar to asking the blessing of a priest)
and ask for forgiveness.(the phrase forgive me my brother) the
response is God forgives. After Forgiveness is given the line moves
along and soon everyone in the community has forgiven everyone else.
This is emotional, you will see people crying, looking distraught. I
find myself overwhelmed. I find myself overwhelmed and tongue-tied by
the kindness displayed by everyone and what this brings out in me.
So in the honor and spirit of this day I ask the fogiveness of anyone
who reads this. thank you in advance.

The Kids are alright

The kids fought a NAGA(North American Grappling Association) event in Rhode Island this past weekend. The rugrats made me proud.

The medal count is as follows:
Julie - 2 golds
Brianna- 2 golds
Arthur  -  1 Silver and 1 Bronze
Rachel - 2 Silver
Gabi - 1 Silver
Brian - 1 bronze
Felipe - 1 Bronze
Jordan 1 Bronze
Alex- 1 bronze
Jofran - 1 Bronze
Isadora - 2 Gold

I have to say I am extremely happy with my kids. They all showed up and competed to the best of their abilities  which is all as a coach you can really ask for.
Teaching these kids has been a lifesaver to me at times. I started teaching right after Liz announced she wanted the divorce. Sometimes they are the only thing that remind me I am human. My kids have defiantly made me a better person. I just wish I could have kept them all rather than having some go to other gyms or quit altogether. That is the nature of the beast though.

I am excited though that the good fighter tournament(http://www.thegoodfight.tv/index.html) is coming to Boston on May 5th. It is being held at Hellenic College in Brookline MA.   For those who unaware Hellenic College also shares a campus with Holy Cross the theological school where my Priest Father John Bacon attended. An Orthodox Christian coaching a bunch of kids on the campus of an Orthodox seminary? This might be a first. Most Brazilians tend to be Catholic or Evangelical. This is a rare moment for me where the two vastly different parts of my life will intersect. I am going to start looking for ways to help support our kids so that as many of them can attend as possible.

He got beat by a girl!!

Thawap!! Julie through caio to the mat with a perfect double leg. Julie is an 8 year old who has been with me about 3 months Caio is a 10 year old with maybe two weeks experience. He is bigger and stronger than Julie but he lacks the concentration and dedication Julie has displayed since day one. As this was a takedown drill the match was over Julie had won and Caio had lost.
"he got beat by a girl!!!" cried little Felipe, my 5 year old jiu jitsu student. I was quickly forced to respond. "Sha, we never ever say that" ( ok it's time to reset, I shouldn't teach children, I yell too much and I annoy too easily. Why am i surrounded by kids? I'm not a good influence. Time to regain my Composure and save the day before I get yelled at for yelling at the kids again) "ok guys sit down we need to have a quick discussion.
"Look Felipe its wrong to make another student feel bad because he got beat by a girl. Not because Ciao lost but because it takes away from Julie's victory and her hard work. Guys I'll tell you something, when I was younger I wrestled in the same club as a girl named Kristie Marano, she's a two time world champion and an Olympian and she used to beat the tar out of the boys. Ive been triangled by Hillary Williams and I learned a lot from a seminar i took from her. Girls can be as accomplished grapplers as guys. Never underestimate your opponent boy or girl ok? They all shook their heads but I fear my little life lesson went over about as well as the time I tried to get them to count in Russian.
I wont lie I like to teach girls grappling more than boys. The girls tend to listen better, try harder and are in general more technical. They also cry less which is something I appreciate. But the truth is teaching girls to grapple is frustrating. In this male dominated sport the results of the match are often viewed as "You got beat by a Girl" or "You beat a girl" The female competitor is always marginalized by her gender unless she is fighting another girl, and Fighting another girl isn't always an option. Maybe one in eight of my kids is a girl and as they get old that ratio will become closer to probably one in ten or so. A female grappler who only grapples other girls is going to find it harder and harder to find training partners let alone competition. This by no means means that females cant hold their own as grapplers. Kristie Marano/Davis, Hillary Williams, Kyra Gracie, Gabi Garcia and many other fine grapplers can hold their own against their male contemporaries. It is my hope that the girls I teach all 6 of them will one day be mentioned in the same breath as these fine ladies. In the mean time I'll just be happy if they stick it out and make it to practice the next day.

It starts with a single step

All things in life begin with a single step. This step is always memorable. Your parents remember your first steps, You remember your first kiss, girlfriend, high school dance etc etc etc..  I remember these things too but I also remember the first time I tied my belt, first time I crossed myself before stepping into the orthodox church and the first time I learned to grill a really awesome Steak. So these are the things I will be covering in my blog. Don't like these things? Don't read them. Oh and from time to time I will be covering Pit bull ownership as well.