Train Rides, Late Night Eating, and the Power of Visualization (The Dreaded Salt Shaker)

So after catching a ride back to the house with Kenny I started getting ready for my departure to Charlotte, NC the following morning (my train would leave at 11:15am and was to have arrived in Charlotte at around 7:30-8:00pm later that day).  I got home, showered, ate, and then did the laundry that I had left to do and began packing.  I'm not sure why but my belongings seemed to have taken up more space that I remember last time.  I managed to get everything packed in but again it all seemed much more cramped and heavy than I remember.

Later on Seph arrived back at the house and eventually we decided to make a late night McDonalds run - Kenny wanted a milkshake and Seph was hungry and I must admit I was also still a bit hungry. So off we went to the McDonalds a block or so away.  I had told myself that I was going to try to avoid the McDs and managed to do so till my last night in Va.  After getting some not so fine food we made our way back to the house and had some light conversation.

I don't regret coming to VA and training at the 50/50 academy - at times it was way too hot and humid for me to handle but I felt a sense of welcoming and anonymity in Alexandria/Arlington that I thrive and feel most at home in which is something that I struggle to find back home in Alberta being from a small city like Lethbridge.  Inevitably, I'll run into someone I know or knows me - at times that's good but most of the time I'd rather just be anonymous.  Not to mention Lethbridge brings back some unhappy memories.  If not for my family and a few friends I'd probably have left or not come back from my first excursion to Brazil.

Enough venting.  I put out the Gi that I had worn on my last training session to dry and packed up the rest of my belonging's. And tried to get some sleep as I had to be up by 7am to make sure I would be ready to hop the train to Charlotte to train with Jeremy Arel.

Friday morning, about 3hrs sleep, showered, finished packing up the few belongings.  Woke Seph up and got a ride to the train station.  Said my goodbyes and walked into the train station and waited for the train to arrive.  It was approximately 9:30am and my train was to arrive just after 11am.  In my rush I had forgot to ask Seph to stop at 7-11 or even McDs so I could grab something to eat and drink.  It was after after 10 minutes that I realized that this was a big mistake as I started to get hungry and light-headed - my energy levels were way down and the heat and humidity did not help much.

I had mentioned that I don't regret coming to VA to train.  I will say that I regret not putting more effort in to trying to create some better bonds with my hosts Kenny and Seph.  I keep mostly to myself and kind of did my own thing while in VA.  I feel that I could have put in a bit more effort in to trying to be more open and what not but you I guess it's just not my nature.  I hope that if I make it back that I can work on that as both Kenny and Seph are cool guys.

While waiting for the train I found some vending machines and picked up some chocolate bars, water, and gatorade.  And waited.  The station filled up and emptied as people arrived and left on their trains to various destinations.

Just after 11am one of the train station attendants called out for all passengers on the train bound for Charlotte (and stops inbetween) to make their way out the the platform.  After about 10 minutes the train arrived and I made my way on to the train.  Here are a couple of pictures that I took while waiting for the train to arrive:

Waiting for the train to arrive.

Train just get here already!

The plan had been to get a seat by a window so I can snap some shots from the train.  But the train attendants informed us that people traveling in groups of 2 or more would board first; by the time I got on the train the pickings were slim and as per my luck I was not able to get a seat by a window.  I was just thankful that the train had air conditioning (at least initially)as it was another stiflingly hot day in VA.  As it turns out it would have not mattered much as I sleep pretty much through most of the train ride in to Charlotte.

I'd like to say that the train ride was thrilling and that I did something crazy like hook up with some hot gal.  Unfortunately it was the polar opposite.  Not having much sleep the night before I ended up sleeping and when I was up I was surrounded by mostly less than "hook-up" type of people.  I was thankful that the train did have a store that opened up and sold snack meals.  The only real drama that I encountered on the train ride was that were running late.  First because the train was not able to run at full speed because of the heat (dont ask me why but I can attest to the fact that it was murderously hot out).  We were also running late as we had some trouble with the Engine car of the train.

Jeremy had informed me that his mother would pick me up at the train station as he was going to be still teaching when my train was to have arrived.  Well I had no other way to keep in touch with jeremy except through facebook.  In informed him of the train running late.  In order to do so I had to turn on my connection to the mobile network then log in to facebook and send a mesage - I had come to the conclusion early in my trip that using my cell phone, specifically mobile browsing, was out of the question as roaming charges are really outrageous and I did not want to come home to a enormous phone bill.

In total my train was just shy of 3hrs late and in the end Jeremy picked me up at the train station.  I arrived in Charlotte at around 10:50pm just a few minutes shy of a 12hr train ride.  I was not to stressed out by this as I had never been on a train before and it was a new experience.

After picking me up Jeremy asked me if I'd like to get something to eat and I said yep.  So we made our way to this 50s inspired bar/diner???  I ordered a burger and fries. I also tried something new; deep fried pickles.  Yes you read that right - Deep Fried Pickles.  Behold:

Deep Fried Pickles!

My impressions?  They sounded like they would taste like crap but they ended up being pretty good eats.  Not that I would ever miss eating them again.  But it is nice to try something different.  Here is some bathroom art from the same bar:

Pabst - beer of hipsters the world over!

After eating I learned that although Jeremy picked me up in Charlotte, NC.  That I would be staying and training in South Carolina - about 10 minutes south of the city of Charlotte.  We drove to the house, I got settled in.  Before I went to sleep Jeremy told me to watch his latest video upload.  I did and here it is for your viewing entertainment:



So that was my long day.

Stay tuned for more blogs from my time in South Carolina.

Andre.

Boring weekends (sleeping in);Training; Guard Passing, Posture and the Falcon Trust - Last Week at 50/50 BJJ Academy

So when I last left off I had my equivalent of the near death experience - melodramatics aside I did learn a valuable lesson that you need to keep hydrated when you're training on a day in day out basis and this lesson is heightened when you're in the middle of a heat wave in an area known for not only  heat but high humidity.

As I had mentioned previously; my sleep schedule was way off and as a result I slept in on the Saturday of my visit and missed out on the open mat.  I woke up around 2:30-3:00pm, showered, and made my way out. The plan had been to go out walking and take some pictures around Alexandria.  If you're familiar with my trips to Brazil you'll know doubt be aware that I do like to go exploring the city and area I'm living in on foot and take pictures.  So upon planning this years trip I made sure to pack my camera.

Anyhow I made my way out the door and and down the block and figured that I'd head out towards the Potomac Center then head south from there as I had seen some nice buildings and architecture from afar.  As par course with my trip thus far I was soaked in sweat a block or so from the 50/50 hotel (as it is called).  I had made sure to pack lots of water and some Gatorade to make sure that my previous days experience was not repeated.  I made it up to the Potomac Center then headed south.  I had walked maybe about 10 minutes from the center when I realized that I was not going to be doing any picture taking as it was just too hot out and the sun was beating down hard (it being mid-day).  At this point I turned around and headed back to the Potomac Center.  I went in to the Target as it was the nearest store and I was burning up by this time.  I did some window shopping to cool down then made my way down through each store.  I finally arrived at the Barns & Noble/Starbucks and sat down to veg out and try to figure out what I was going to do with my day.


As it turns out there is a movie theater in the Potomac Center and I figured that the best way to get out of the heat and do something other than sit around was to go to a movie.  So i hopped on my phone, found the listings and decided that I was going to go see the newest Harry Potter movie.  Not really being a movie critic all I'll say is that I liked the movie and it was nice to veg out and get out of the heat.  After the movie was over I walked back down the stores, grabbed some food, then sat in a different Starbucks for about an hour or so then made my way back to the house to kill time on the internet.
 Here is a picture of my movie stub for proof...ha ha:

When I arrived back to the house the Kenny and Seph were home - I do believe they went to some sort of get-together/party and Seph was a little tipsy. Other than that my Saturday was uneventful.  As per usual I stayed up late, slept-in on Sunday.

Upon waking up on Sunday I figured that I better get my traveling - I had initially decided I was going to Grayhound bus it to Charlotte but after a talk with my Ma she convinced me that perhaps trying the train would be a better option.  After some research I discovered that the Amtrax train station was not far from where I was staying and it would work out much better as I could only find a grayhound bus station in Richmond and the only bus to Charlotte leaves everyday at around 8:00am ish.

So I went on line and managed to figure out which  buses I need to jump on to get there and back.  After a long, long wait the bus finally arrived at the bus stop and it was about a 15 minute ride to the train station.  I purchased my ticket ($102.00 for a one way to Charlotte, NC from Alexandria, VA.)  After another long wait at the bus station I caught my bus and made my way back to the neighborhood where I was staying.  I decided that I should grab something to eat so again I made my way up to the Potomac Center.  Grabbed a bite to eat, headed back home and tried to prepare myself for my last few days of training at Ryan Hall's academy.

Monday was pretty much my same routine, get up, shower, make my way to starbucks for a coffee and late lunch/breakfast.  Come back to the house, shower, hop the bus, train, hop the bus back to the house.  Get off at my bus stop.  Stop at 7-11 on my walk to the house to grab a hot dog and a coke zero.  Shower, change, eat something and then veg out on the computer till I fall asleep.

During  my time at the 50/50 academy I was exposed to a whole different approach/style than I had  been previously used to.  Most notably the deep half guard and the one foot x-guard.  I've been working on the x-guard for about 2yrs now; of course my training has been spotty.  And I have found myself in the position of x-guard/deep half so my time at Ryan's academy was well spent.  Of course I think that about least a month at the academy would have been what I needed to make a real impact and work the deep half, x-guard, and one footed x-guard.

Overall there was nothing too outrageous to talk about; training, sleep, eat, and veg out.

However, one thing stands out from my last few training sessions at the academy. During the fundamentals class we worked on posturing in the guard, breaking open the guard and passing to side control and eventually the north-south choke.

Anyone familiar with being in the closed guard will no doubt know about the concept of posture which involves a few things going on at once.  For the unfamiliar I'll break it down as best I can.

you need to control the hips (of the guy holding you in his closed guard) which in most cases, in the gi, is done with one hand gripping the Gi Jacket roughly around where the ribs would be so as to create discomfort is your opponent should try to sit up.  Your other hand should be controlling his Gi pants near the waist area so as to control his hips.  You should also be looking straight in front of you (keeping your head up).  Finally, you should be, for the lack of a better explanation, thrusting your groin area into his butt so as to further immobilize his hips and create a very strong posture from which you can begin to stand up and start opening and passing the guard.

Ryan had observed us and from what I figure we we for the most part getting the gist of it.  While we were drilling the guard passing Ryan stopped us and corrected and pointed out a few things that we needed to work on.  One of them being thrusting your groin area in so as to create that strong vertical pillar that is essential for strong posture in guard.  In order to get this through to us Ryan mentioned if anyone had seen the youtube clip "FALCON THRUST" from what I can recall no one had and he said this is exactly the motion he wanted us to use when posturing up in guard.  He laughed a bit and did what I call the "Duff Man" motion from the Simpsons tv show.  Anyhow, after training I made my way back home and followed my usual ritual.

Here is the clip of the infamous "Falcon Thrust":



For some reason this clip has been labeled as offensive so it might not embed or you might have to log into a youtube account.  If so I am sorry - but you know how Puritan youtube has become in the last year or so.

Anyhow, that is the type of hip movement/thrust that Ryan wanted stress to us that we needed to use when creating that good posture to successfully open and pass an opponent's guard.

My last night at the academy was more of the same; warm up, drill, positional spar.  Like I had mentioned earlier I wish I could have stayed longer to take advantage of all the new and exciting techniques that I was learning but life is such that most good things must end.  Here are a few pics I snapped from my last night at Ryan Hall's 50/50 academy:

The first two are of Ryan, myself, Seph, and Kenny (in the arm sling). The second is of Ryan and Seph talking some strategy/technique???  The third pic is of a fellow named Courtney (last name???) that I met at the academy and was one of the guys that I got along with really well and was also very helpful with some of the techniques that I was unfamiliar with.  And finally another pic of Ryan and Seph engaged in some deep Jiu Jitsu conversation.

Thus ended my almost 2 week vacation/training excursion to Virginia and Ryan Hall's 50/50 academy.  Much like my experiences at Gordo's academy in Brazil I found that I was welcomed in to the academy as not only a foreigner (me being a Canadian) but a Jiu Jitsu student who comes from a different camp (I would consider myself a Gordo/Josh Russell student of BJJ).

I feel that in some parallel universe or another parallel life - that I'm in Virginia training everyday at 50/50 academy and loving life - despite the heat (perhaps in this parallel world it's not so hot and humid in VA.    Just as in another parallel world I'm kicking butt in Brazil and training everyday with Gordo and the jiu jitsu beasts in Barra da Tijuca in Rio.

After the photo taking Ryan thanked me and again mentioned that he felt honored that I chose his academy out off the academies in the world.  But lets be honest the honor is all mine and I have met some really good guys in Alexandria/Arlington and I hope fate and life brings me back that way as I really felt at home and good training there.

I've talked to a friend of mine from my home academy in Calgary - Gracie Barra Calgary - and he is a big fan of Ryan's and we had talked about perhaps taking a trip down that way sometime next year - I'm thinking the Easter Holiday.

If you should ever get the urge to train at a welcoming academy with lots of good jiu jitsu players and a world renowned instructor and aren't to keen on traveling to Brazil then I suggest that you contact the 50/50 academy at the address below:

http://5050bjj.com/

And ask about the 50/50 hotel - Kenny Savercool and Seph Smith would be the ones to talk to about staying there.

So that is pretty much it for this portion of my summer 2011 Jiu Jitsu trip - the next stop is South Carolina and Jeremy Arel's Great Grappling Academy - stay tuned for adventures from there.  Till then....



Peace, Love, and Happiness (whatever happiness is to you)

Andre (the king of Broken-Heart'd Jiu Jitsu...haha!!!)

Sleep Schedules, Heat Waves, Killing Time.

Well the last time I wrote was about a week ago and I had promised that I would post a bit more; but you know sometimes things just don't turn out the way you want.

So I last left off after just having had my first rolling session at the 50/50 academy and being lucky enough to have rolled with Ryan Hall; which a treat to say the least.

My first few days in VA were pretty much sleep days and I'm not sure if this has contributed to my sleep schedule being way off.  After my first training session, and continuing on to my time in South Carolina, I've been staying up to 4-6am each night and sleeping in till anywhere from 12:00pm to 3pm.  This is something that I'd rather not be doing but since I'm on vacation I'm trying not to worry too much about it.  Still it does bum  me out sometimes if I've sleep most of the day away.  I worried as to how I'm going to remedy this once I get back home and to reality-I'll figure things out.

So You're probably wondering what my living space was like.  Well here is a picture of the front of Seph and Kenny's pad:

As you can see a pretty nice little brick house (many,if not all, the houses were brick and I'm assuming that it is because of the humidity).  Let me take you on a little journey.  I walk up the side walk, open the chain link fence, close the fence. Walk up to the door and insert my key - Kenny was kind enough to give me my own key - unlock the door, walk in to some air conditioning (you pretty much need an air conditioner down here).  If I were to walk straight I would pass through the living/tv room then on to the kitchen and to the left to the kitchen the laundry room.

But I'll take you on a small trip to the left and up a flight of stairs.  Once you reach the top of the too your left is Seph's room, straight ahead is the washroom.  Now I take a left and and walk down a very short hallway; to my left is Kenny's room.  But I continue straight ahead to a door and the guest room.  On my very first day the first thing I noticed was the bedding.  Here is what I saw when I first entered the room:

Ninja Turtle Bedding; how cool is that?  Pretty cool I must say.  Anyhow, this is what my room looked like after a few days of training:

Which was pretty typical of my time in Rio - gi's and various training gear hanging around drying.  It may be messy, foreign, perhaps even gross to those who are not familiar with the BJJ lifestyle but to those who have traveled and lived the life (for however long it was) it is typical and in someways a comfort.  A comfort in the sense that, at least for awhile, all that matters is what you have packed - a few clothes, a Gi, your training gear and a few dollars in your pocket and bank account.  I  guess I'll never be any gals dream GQ kinda guy but I'm at the point in my life where I'm ok with who I am and the things I do (for the most part as I do have my days) and that's okay.

As I had mentioned earlier my sleep schedule was way off.  So Thursday I got up around 2ish, showered and walked to the Potomac Centre.  At this point I had also gotten my clothes so it was nice to have a clean pair of clothes to change into.  At this point in my trip the heat in Alexandria/Arlington was deathly and I shit you not when I say that I walked half a block and I was dripping sweat.  I made my way to the stores which were about at 15 minute walk away but seemed much further in the heat.  I had found a Barns and Noble (Canadians think Chapters) bookstore which also had a Starbucks inside.  I liked to hang out here and drink a coffee, surf the net, and then make my way around the bookstore.  I ended up finding a couple of books for my father and a couple for myself.  Anyhow, here are a few pics of the Starbucks.

This first one is of a cup of coffee - probably the first day I went there:

This one is of a nice mural above the coffee bar/register:

I would stay here for a bit then roam around the other stores and then make my way back to the house - usually after purchasing some supplies - water, gatoradge, coconut water, and a protein drink.  So I did that and made my way back to the house,showered and walked to the bus stop and made my way to the 50/50 academy in Arlington.  Tonight went a bit better as I was in the class with a few other guys who were around my skill level which made me fell better about things.  After training I hung out for a bit then made my way back to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Alexandria.  My particular bus stop went about half block further from where I would catch the bus to make my way into Arlington.  This little walk would take me by the 7-11 and my ritual - for my  brief time in Alexandria, of stopping for a coke zero and a hotdog.  Yeah I know 7-11 food is kinda gross but what ever.

Anyhow, I got home, showered, ate a sandwich, drank some liquid and made my way up to my room to watch internet tv, surf the net, creep facebook, ha ha ha ha....and stay up till the wee hours of the night.

Friday was more of the same; sleep in late, get up, shower, and walk to the stores.  Of course I ended up in the bookstore/coffee shop. I had my Venti cup of coffee and another Venti cup.  Eventually I made my way back to the house to get ready to train.  I might mention that the head on this particular Friday was close to unbearable and I would later learn the hottest day of the year - up to that point.  Here is picture I took inside the bookstore/coffee shop that accents my point of how hot it was:

You can make out on the upper right hand side - yes! That does indeed say 39degrees C.  I was later told that with the humidity added in that it was 46degrees C.  I can honestly say I've never experienced heat like this.  Which brings me to my next little story.

So I washed up and made my way to the bus stop.  I was soaked in sweat before I even got to the bus stop.  After about 15 minutes my bus arrived I hopped on and was thankful for the air conditioning.  After about 45 minutes I was at the downtown town stop - Ballston I do believe - walked down to the academy and by the time I reached the doors and air conditioning I was once again soaked in sweat.  So I made my way upstairs,changed and got ready for class.

Initially, class went well but about midway through I started to really get winded and shortly after began cramping up like crazy.  It did not occur to me that anything might be wrong at this time and I just attributed it to a hard training session - as I had earlier mentioned almost everyone at the academy was much better than me.  Well by the end of the training session my heart was beating fast, my arms were numb, and I was light headed and by this time I  was a bit concerned.  I walked back to the change room, drank a whole 500ml carton of coconut water, and sipped on some water.  I did not feel any better and my chest was still feeling tight.

Now I had planned on taking part in what the 50/50 academy calls the Marathon Roll.  The Marathon Roll consists of 10 five minute rounds back to back; with the 1 minute rest in between.  It was one of my goals upon planning my Jiu Jitsu trip to Virginia.  Now, unfortunately, I was not going to be able to take part.  I stayed around and watched the action going on and as much as I would have liked to have been a part of it my body was not feeling right.  I packed up and made my way back to the bus stop.  I got downtown to the Ballston station and while waiting walked across the street to the 7-11 and grabbed a gatorade and promptly drained it.

The bus ride back to the house seemed to take longer than usual given my current state.  In the end I made it back home safely and after a shower and some food I began to feel alot better  but the lesson was learned.  If you're going to drink to Venti  (large) coffees and plan on doing any physical activity after that you had better make sure you are hydrated properly and double this advice if you are in any type of extreme heat and humidity.

Seph ended up arriving back at the house and I apologized to him for not staying around.  He mentioned that it was not a big deal  We ended up striking up a conversation about music. I learned that Seph had grown up in Richmond, VA and personally knew some members of a couple of bands I listened to back in the day.  One of the bands was Avail and the other Ann Beretta - two Richmond, VA punk rock bands.  Here is a sample of a very kick ass song by Avail:



 Here is a clip of some competition footage from Seph Smith:



 It was a pleasant surprise to know that Seph and I shared something in common (a taste in music - as the conversation continued I found out that we both like most of the same bands). 

That is it for now - stay tuned for the next installment of my trip and adventure.

Training,Clothes, and That Lost Feeling (rolling with Ryan Hall)

So when I left off last I had been without clothes going on my 3rd day.  I ended up going to Target to get some clothes so that I could train and have something to change into.  I also managed to find my way to the 50/50 academy via the bus system in Arlington/Alexandria, VA.

I opened the door and relief hit me as it was definitely cooler inside than it was (recall that I had mentioned that the heat and humidity were unreal).  I was pleased about this and made my way  up the stairs and through another door that lead to the 2nd floor of the building in which Ryan's academy was located.  The actual academy is right through the first door on the left; you'll see a door with a window and the 50/50 logo on there.  You'll also hear alot of voices and music playing.

Anyhow, I made my way into the academy saw Seph and had a conversation with Jen (I do believe she is Ryan's Girl friend and works at the front desk; she is also a purple belt.)  I paid the 75$ for one week of training (unlimited).  Now in my haste I had looked at the schedule for the academy and had looked at Tuesday's class schedule and was under the impression that I had arrived in time for the 7:30 BJJ class.  But it being Wednesday I had arrived in time for the wrestling class.  Not really being a wrestler (my take down options are Judo based).  Jen asked me if I'd like to take part in the wrestling class and I declined (not really wanting to risk getting hurt or hurting anyone).  She then informed me that after the wrestling class, at 8:30pm,  the Advanced No-Gi class was going to take place.

She then called Ryan over and asked him if it would be okay if I took part in the advanced class and Ryan replied, "Sure, why not!"  So I was set to go but also pretty nervous as I was going to be rolling with guys who were in all likelihood far above my skill level.  I ended up watching the wrestling class then getting ready a few minutes before the class started.  Now being that I that that it was going to be a Gi training day I only brought my Gi so I ended up having to just wear my gi pants and a rashguard.

Sidenote; while I was waiting for the wrestling class to finish.  My phone went off and low and behold it was the airport baggage guy informing me that my luggage was in and that he would be delivering it to me.  Finally!  I would have some clothes to change in to and after some back and forth it was decided that he would deliver my baggage to the academy (it worked out better for him as he mentioned that he was closer to Arlington than Alexandria.

Class started and we got right into it.  Ryan and Seph started off by showing an arm-drag to back technique.  I got paired with a younger, larger (as in athletic) guy.  We drilled that technique and then a couple more; at this point I knew that this particular class was going to fly by me as I was not familiar with the techniques and too be honest I had not trained much back home and as a result I was completely off.  After about 20-30 minutes or so we got down to some rolling (sparring).  I rolled with my sparring partner first, then another one of the guys in class.  I was able to somewhat hold my own with the first sparring partner.  But my 2nd rolling partner (again I'm bad with names) pretty much had his way with me.  After my 2nd rolling session we stopped and everyone sat around waiting for the next round to start.  Just before the round began everyone partnered up and I sat there waiting; being the visitor I was unsure of the gym etiquette.

As I sat there I heard someone say "hey,Andre would you like to roll?"  I looked to my left and it was Ryan Hall himself.  The round started off and I was under no impression that I was even going to remotely be competitive.  Any time that I've rolled with a black belt in Brazil I always got this feeling that I lost in a dream; you know that dream when every corner is a dead end and no matter what you do it's always the wrong choice. Well I got that alot both times that I was I Brazil and I was experiencing it as I rolled with Ryan.

It was quite obvious that Ryan was going very easy on me; nonetheless he did whatever he wanted with me.  If you're unfamiliar with Ryan he is well known for the deep half guard position; and I have only really heard of the deep half guard position (I have played around with it but in all honesty I don't know much about the deep half guard).  And I must say I felt very helpless. As the round progressed Ryan would occasionally stop and correct me if I was doing something wrong or he saw an opportunity to help me get to where I was going to go (in terms of Jiu Jitsu position).  The round ended and Ryan began to chat me up; the usual.  Where was I from?  Who did I train with?  How did I like it thus far?  Etc.  But how lucky was I? On my first night I got to roll with Ryan Hall himself.  Back home I don't think I've rolled with my instructor at all - at least in the past year and half or so.  So felt pretty lucky.

I forgot to mention that while I was drilling at the beginning of the class the airport guy dropped by.  I signed the little waiver thing and hooray! I had clothes.


I ended up rolling with Seph and a few other guys that stayed (it was a smaller class). After class I thanked Ryan and he told me that he was thankful and happy that I chose his academy out of all the other places I could have trained at.  But lets be honest the honour was all mine.


So I hopped into Seph's car and we drove back to the house.  I showered and then took pleasure in the fact that I could change in to some clean clothes. Then took a walk to 7-11 as it was the only thing open at that time within decent walking range; grabbed a hot dog and some snacks.  Walked back home and retired to my room.

My first training session went well and I was looking forward to the next day's training session.  On my first night I got to train with one of the worlds best grappler's.  How luck I am to have found jiu jitsu and all the places it has taken me.  If it all ended right now; it would not be such a bad ride.

Here is the website for the 50/50 academy with pictures so that you can get the idea of where I was training.  Please do not hesitate to contact them if you would like to drop by and train with them.

http://5050bjj.com/multimedia


Here is a photo of Ryan teaching and answering questions; notice Seph to the right.

Stay tuned for the next installment - You hear more about the up's and downs of the hopeless romantic grappler...ha ha!!!!