Virginia - Part Two, Bus rides, Target, New Clothes (sorta), Facing Fears.

When you last read about my summer 2011 adventure the major concern was that I had no clothes; the result of my luggage not making it through customs.

Well I slept most of the day Wednesday.   I got up around 2:30-3:00pm-ish.  Seph, one of the owners and instructors at the 50/50 academy asked me if I was going to train tonight - I said yes but that I needed to get some stuff from the Target store a few blocks away.  From here he helped me figure out how I was going to get down to Arlington to the academy.  I was to take the the 10A bus to the metro (subway system) and from there take a few different lines to end up downtown Arlington.   Seph went off to the academy to teach and I made my way to the Target.

The Target store is about 5-6 blocks away in a strip mall type of place called the Potomac Yard Center - picture below:

This walk takes about 15 minutes - but seemed much further because of the heat.  Once there I made my way back to the mens wear.  I grabbed some boxer briefs for training and to have something to change into when i got back, a tee shirt to wear under my Gi. I grabbed some water and gatorade, paid and then made my way back to the house to take a quick shower.

Once showered and dressed I packed up my Gi, loaded my backpack with water, locked up the house and my made my way to the bus stop.

I got to the bus stop and began waiting.  At this point I have to add that the heat and humidity here in Virginia last week was verging on deathly; even people from this area have commented that the heat was awful.   My point being that by the time I got to the bus stop I was drenched with sweat.  The 10A eventually arrived I pulled out my little piece of paper with the names of the places I needed to get to and asked the buss driver for some assistance.  I informed him that I needed to get to the Metro at which point he told me which one.  And this is where I'd insert a 'blankface" picture because I was not really sure.  I showed him the little piece of paper which also happened to have the address of the 50/50 academy.  He noticed the address and told me that it would be much easier if I caught the 10B bus which was about 10minutes behind him.  That it would take me right where I needed to go.  So I hoped off and began to wait and sweat again.

The 10B finally arrived, I was still unsure if this was the right bus so I asked the bus driver but he was unsure as well (apparently this was not his usual route).  Anyhow a few nice passengers looked at the address and informed me that I was on the right bus.  My stop being the very last stop of this particular route.

Eventually, 45 minutes or so, I got off at my stop and was pointed in the direction of where the 50/50 Academy should be located.  So off I went edging that much closer to training with Ryan Hall.  My guess is that the academy is about 4-5 blocks from the downtown bus stop or about a 10 minute walk.  As I was making my way down the street I keep looking at the numbers of the buildings.

After about 15 minutes I stopped as I was in the area that the address should be.  I looked around but could not see any sign or advertisement for the academy.  I was about to walk to the store behind me when I happened to look up and across the street and there it was - the 50/50 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy of Ryan Hall.

The picture below is approximately what I saw:

Here I was and the nervousness began to hit me.  I suffer from an anxiety disorder so even training back home causes me to worry, doubt, try to find a way out - so my nerves and mind were running a mile a minute.  I was unsure I should go up there; in truth I was trying to find a way out.  Which is a thorn in my side.  I took a deep breath, sucked it up, and walked across the street. After a bit of trial and error I realized that the entrance was around back of the building and so I made my way to the back.

I got to the back and saw the little glass door with the 50/50.

Again another deep breath.  I reached for the door, pulled it open, and began to walk up the stairs to the academy.  I had nothing to lose now.  I was here to train and here I was at the academy.  I was damned if I was going to allow my inner demons and troubles get the best of me.

Please stay tuned for the next installment of the 50/50 BJJ trip.

No shirt, no shoes, no fun - first few days in Virgina.

So I finally made it down here to Virgina - Staying in Alexandria, VA at the house of two of the top students/instructors at Ryan Hall's 50/50 academy.  The two guys I'm staying with are - Kenny Savercool and Seph Smith.  Unfortunately, Kenny had surgery the day I arrived and has not been to the academy - at least not the times that I've been there-and will be out for 5-6 months while his shoulder heals up.

Anyhow, my trip started at 12:05am Sunday/Monday, July 17-18.  I drove up on Sunday evening, got dropped off and made my way through the check in and waited.  Caught my flight which was a roughly 3 1/2 hr flight (give or take).  I arrived at about 5am-ish Toronto time and had about a 3hr lay over till my flight left for DC - Ronald Regan Airport.

I made it through the hellishly long line to USA customs.  Got through with a little over an hour till my flight left - decided to get something to eat then sat and waited till my flight was boarding.  Finally boarded and within roughly an Hour and a half I was in DC.  Although, I might add that the flight was late leaving the airport in Toronto.

So here comes the crappy part.  We landed, got off the plan, and we (everyone on the plane who had checked luggage) made our way to pick up our luggage.  Well I waited and waited - for about 15 minutes after everyone else had gotten their luggage.  At this point it dawned on me that my luggage was in all likelihood lost - at very least not in VA.  In the end I found out that my luggage had not cleared customs in Toronto and the plane left without my luggage.  Anyhow, I was assured that it would arrive on the next flight at 5pm and that I would have my luggage later that night or early the next day.  Note to self and anyone reading this; "Do not believe airlines when they say your luggage will be back to you in a timely manner"

Anyhow, While waiting for my luggage and then trying to figure out what was going on with that situation  - Seph, Kenny's roommate called me and left a message; I called back and informed him that my luggage was MIA.  Eventually, he was able to locate the terminal and exit where I was waiting.  As I walked out the doors of the airport the first thing that hit me was the heat and humidity - it was unlike anything I'd ever felt.

After Seph picked me up we headed straight to his place as I was completely beat from being awake since 9am the previous day (Sunday).  So he dropped me off and told me that he had to run off as he was teaching a class at the academy.  I knew that all I was going to do was sleep and sleep I did.  I did not wake up till just before 6pm as I had heard some noise and decided to see what was up.  It was my other host Kenny Savercool back from surgery.  We had some chit chat, I paid my rent for staying here, asked about places to eat and such.  Then made my way out to the 7-11 near by to pick up some water as I was feeling very dehydrated and not much better with the heat.

I ended up finding a great Mexican food place and stuffed myself with steak tacos, nacho chips and salsa, and a guacamole dip. After which I made my way to Target to buy some supplies - washing stuff.  And made my way back to my place.  When I arrived Kenny was out - presumably from medication and just having shoulder surgery.

I spend a bout an hour trying to connect to the internet and finally did.  At this point I did some e-mailing and just mellowing out on the computer.  Eventually, I went up to my room and went to sleep.

Day 2 - still no clothes.  I ended up getting up kind a early but went straight back to bed.  I woke up late in the afternoon and showered and then went for a short walk then came back and waited for my baggage to arrive.  By about 9pm I realized that my stuff was not arriving so i went back up to my room and went to bed; unfortunately I was in one of those states where I was tired but my mind was racing and I could not settle down.  I was up till close to 6am which in turn had me sleeping most of the day on Wednesday.

So thus far my trip has been:

long drive to the airport in Calgary
long, late flight to Toronto
long wait to get through customs in Toronto
Arrive in DC to find that my luggage was not there waiting for me.
extreme heat and humidity once I arrived.
No change of clothes after 2 full days.
lots of sleeping and not training after 2 full days here.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this particular blog.  So to sum up my trip thus far - no luggage no fun!

p.s. I've not had the chance to take much pictures but I will get on that ASAP! 

In the meantime if your looking for some cool music to chill out to listen to this song by Robert Bradley I just rediscovered. This is soul music and I've been listening to it non-stop.  You may ask why music in a jiu jitsu themed blog?  Well music is one of the few things that helps me get through the day and life in general.  My tastes are diverse.  Enjoy!

Gordo Jiu Jitsu - 4 yr B-day & Real Rio Show clips

My flight is booked to leave this Sunday evening.  I just thought I'd put out a quick little shout out to the Gordo Academy on their 4yr anniversary.  The Real Rio show caught the celebration - this clip featuring Gordo, Gordinho (Gordo's Brother), Rafael dos Anjos, and Renzo Gracie (speaking about how Gordo came to BJJ and the Gracies).




There is also a little belt promotion ceremony at the end of this clip.  This is of significance as I got my blue belt from Gordo in October of 2009 (my last night in Rio during my first trip down).  There is a gentleman in this clip who also got a blue from Gordo and he expresses how I felt that night (albeit a bit sad (long story)).

I remember the first time I trained at Gordo's academy - it was a Monday morning.  I had arrived in Rio on the Friday, gotten sick, and spent the weekend trying to feel better as well as trying to overcome the shock of having quit my job, selling everything I could, packing the rest of my stuff away, and going all the way to Rio to follow my heart and leave the crap behind.

Anyhow, I walked in and introduced myself to Gordo. It was a nervous experience to say the least.  I did not know a spit of Portuguese and I was a foreigner in a strange new place.  I did the morning class and afterwards talked to Gordo about prices, times, etc.  It was at this time that Gordo asked me how come I just showed up to and that Dennis had told him this guy from Canada was going to show up a week ago.  I cannot remember what exactly I told him but in the end I ended up training pretty much everyday at Gordo's (this was before the renovations to his academy) and enjoyed it so much I came back a year later.

Here is  pic of Gordo awarding me my blue belt in BJJ:

I plan on going back to Gordo's and Rio soon (in all likelihood next summer).

Here is another clip from the Real with a Gracie Barra Black Belt named "Drive-in" working with some kids in his academy.




Some very impressive Jiu Jitsu from some very young competitors.

Here is a clip with some of the guys from the Connection Rio house rolling at Drive-In's academy:



Well in a few days I will be off to Ryan Hall's academy to train for about a week and a half.  After that I'm down to Charlotte to train at Great Grappling Academy with new Gordo Black Belt Jeremy Ariel.

Peace out.

Andre

Ryan Hall and the Great Gerbil Escape

So here I am writing in the Starbucks that I frequent here in Lethbridge.  I've just booked my flights for my summer jiu jitsu adventure.

My agenda is as follows:

Calgary to Alexandria, Va - training at Ryan Hall's 50/50 gym from July 18-27(29-not sure of the exact dates).  Here is the link to Ryan's Academy:

http://5050bjj.com/


 Here is a little video clip of Ryan:


From Alexandria I will be bussing it down to Charlotte, NC to train with new Gordo Black Belt Jeremy Ariel and his Great Grappling Academy (he is known as gerbil on the bjj forums).  Here is his website:

http://www.greatgrappling.com/



Here is a clip of Jeremy showing the wrist-lock and  from the private I took with him last summer at Gordo's academy in Rio:





I never did hear back from  Marcelo Garcia's academy and I did need to book my flights.  So I made the decision to just go to Ryan Hall's academy then to Gerbil's.  If possible I may take a day trip to NYC and train once at Garcia's but as with anything in life (unless you're privileged) money is an issue.

Anyhow, I'll be writing and updating as my trip progresses - with photos.

Till next time.

Peace out!

A.

Connection Rio

I'm not making it to Rio this year and obviously not going to be hanging out with whom ever is staying at the Connection Rio house (from what Dennis has told me they are two houses now - both within walking distance to Gordo's Academy.

I came into contact with Dennis Asche and his company ConnectionRio about a month and a half before I left for Rio 2yrs ago. This was at a time when I had decided, for various reasons, to quit my job and try to pursue the BJJ dream of going to Rio and doing nothing but training and living the lifestyle.

It was a chore to try and get everything in order and a big leap of faith for me - considering I'd never flown in a plane, never been farther than Vancouver in Canada and Wyoming in the USA. But I guess when you've become heartbroken (with life in general) one to many times you either make changes or just resign that your life is going to suck and you're going to die unfulfilled and a chump.

Anyhow, long short - I tried in vain to secure a place to stay in Rio. Most places were way out of my price range. I was pretty certain that a long term stay was out of the question (I had planned to stay at least 5-6 months). Anyhow a friend from Gracie Barra Calgary sent me a website that had tips and pointers for people wanting to go train in Rio. I ended up contacting them (they were from the UK - if i recall correctly) and in turn he gave me Dennis Asche's contact info. I ended up contacting Dennis right away and he said that he had a space for me. And well the rest is history. I stayed at the ConnectionRio HQ for about 3 months; a family emergency sent me back to Canada cutting short my trip but for good reason (perhaps another blog will get in to this).

I ended up going back to Rio and ConnectionRio last year and had planned on going back but things don't work out as you plan. But I do plan on making my way back to Rio, ConnectionRio, and Gordo's academy again. The previous blog got into my plans for this summer.

If you are into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and want to experience the birthplace of BJJ (Brazil, Rio, Barra da Tijuca, etc...) in a safe and secure environment. Then i highly recommend contacting Dennis Asche through the connection rio website and start working on living your dreams.


http://www.connectionrio.com/

Here is a clip of BlackBelt Dennis Asche (under Roberto "Gordo" Correa de Lima) and founder of Connection Rio showing off a couple of butterfly guard passes:





Here is a clip of the ConnectionRio show; an interview with Rafael dos Anjos who just fought and defeated George Sotiropoulos this past weekend at UFC 132.






Finally, here is a clip of a young gentleman I've seen but never really talked to at Gordo's academy talking about being positive and training. He is Robson Gracie:

I'd suggest subscribing to the ConnectionRio youtube page or contacting Dennis if you have desire to go to Rio, train, and live the Jiu Jitsu lifestyle.

Anyhow, that is it for now. I'm still waiting on the Marcelo Garcia academy to get back to me so i can start booking flights and finalizing my plans. Hopefully everything come to fruition.

Till next time . . . Peace!

Summer 2011-jiu jitsu?

Well it's been ages since I've wrote on here. Time for an update. Well last time that I wrote was in Rio (last August) and well I kinda got lazy and stopped writing. I had planned on picking it back up when I got back to Canada but my computer crashed a few days after I arrived back in Canada which in turn just helped me lose my motivation for anything.

I pretty much stopped training (work ate up most of my time and crazy winter weather helped with the lack of motiavtion.)

I had planned on going back to rio this year and competing in the rio open and trying to work my way closer to that purple belt. But as such, in my life, things just never worked out (a lack of get go and motivation on my part which led to not getting a place to stay in Connection Rio). There's really no place else i would consider staying and training Rio - Its all about Connection Rio and Gordo Jiu Jitsu. It is where my heart lies.

I will always be Gordo Jiu Jitsu and will always represent Dennis Asche and connection Rio. Well at least for as long as I'm in this world.

But things are not so bleak. I know that I cannot just sit around and be bummed out in southern, Alberta. It would lead to falling back into old patterns and depressions. So I tried to scrabble and think of what I can do.

I contacted my Friend Jeremy Ariel, whom I met on my first trip to Rio, and asked him what the chances were of him holding me up for a few weeks this summer and letting me train at his brand new gym in Charlotte, N.C. He said sure and I will be going there for a few weeks in late july and early august.

Here is Jeremy showing off what he calls the Rommel guard pass (one of my favorite instructors at Gordo's Academy).






So training at Jeremy's gym (aka Gerbil) will be the 2nd half of my summer adventure .

I'm waiting to hear if plans fall through to train at Marcelo Garcia's academy in NYC for a week or so. Here is a clip of Garcia if you're unfamiliar.





If things work out I'll also be training at Ryan Hall's academy 50/50 in Washington, D.C. If you're unfamilar with Ryan Hall here is a clip:





I'm hoping to spend 6 days at Marcelo's and another week at Ryan Hall's. Finally 2 weeks or so training with my Connection Rio buddy Jeremy. It is not Rio but it's not bad either way. However things turn out I will be happy to life, breath, and hopefully get my fire back.

I'll start posting and writing more - no matter what happens. It's part of being happy and living life. Doing what yo love and I used to love writing so much.

Peace out and leave a comment if you read this. Don't hesistate to check out my profile and send me a message if you're wondering about anything. I'll end with a little clip of Connection Rio:




Well two clips this one featuring a brief section with your's truely.







Whoever is looking out for us . . . "Guide us till the end of time"