First Few Days in Cailfornia - Part 2

Well after Tony, Issac, and Ernesto got finished changing we headed out to Tony's vehicle, packed up our stuff and headed over to his place.  Now having never been to California I had no clue were we were. During my initial talks with Tony he had informed me that his place was about 2miles from the Cobrinha Academy.  Being a bit jet lagged, tired, hungry, and it being about 10pm and dark the car ride seemed like it was a bit more than 2 miles.  But upon my first bike ride the distance was about the right length.

Anyhow, as we were approaching the apartment Tony informed me that there was a good supermarket really near (it ended up being like maybe a 5 minute walk away from Tony's apartment.).  At some point during the drive back to Tony's place Issac informed me that we were living in the section of L.A. known as Korea Town and that, jokingly, I would not see another "white" person around which I thought was pretty funny.  In the end Ernesto had to get some stuff at the market so we all ended up going to the market to pick up a few things.  And then finally made our way back to Tony's place.

Upon reaching Tony's place I realized that I was going to be staying in a really nice apartment; lucky me.  Here are a few pictures of Tony's place.

The sliding doors that lead to the balcony.

The front steps leading to the front doors of Tony's apartment.

The front doors.

View of the apartment building - where I was staying.

Tony's living room. Complete with fire place, big screen tv and Direct TV..woo hoo!

The eating area adjacent to the living room.

Some art work and view of the laundry room.

A very nice kitchen area.

It was probably about 11pm (or later) by the time we got in to the apartment.  Needless to say I was tired and ready to sleep.  So after some chit-chat and introductions I went to the room I was going to be staying in, changed and got ready to go to bed.

The room I was staying in was pretty huge.  I ended up staying on what I was told was a Thai bed (a friend from facebook told me that is what they were called but I can neither confirm nor deny this.)  Here is a picture of my bed that I ended up sleeping on the whole time I was in California as it was really comfortable (despite having a mattress being brought in for me.)

My cool little bed mattress during my stay in L.A.  Very Spartan!!!

Tuesday morning (well more like late morning) was a bit of groggy scene on my part.  Due in part to a bit of jet lag, age, and getting used to a new environment.  I got up just as Issac and Ernesto were leaving for the 12pm competition class.

I ended up just bumming around the house for most of the day.  I decided to go out on the balcony and soon realized that I had a great view of part of the city.  In fact I soon realized that I had a view of one of the most iconic landmarks in Los Angeles.   Here is the view I had from the place I was staying at.

The view from the balcony - the Hollywood sign.

My plan had been to take the early evening fundamentals classes.  I had asked Issac if he could draw me directions to the academy (for some reason it was lost on me to just look it up on Google maps.)  Anyhow, I ventured out for an 2hr or so walk - I do like to take walks when on BJJ vacations to clear my head and take photos.

I got back to the house but Issac and Ernesto were not there and it was almost time to go train - if I wanted to make it to the early evening fundamentals classes I had to leave ASAP.  I ended up just sitting around the house not taking the initiative to find out how to get to the academy from Tony's apartment complex.  Anyhow by the time Issac and Ernesto arrived back at the apartment it was too late to make it down to the academy to train.  I could have made the last class of the day but I was not really interested in doing the no-gi class.

About 8:00pm Issac and Ernesto decided they were going down to the basemen of the apartment building - to the fitness room - and do some drilling and invited me along.  We ended up drilling for about 2 1/2 hours which is by far the most time I've spent drilling (just doing one technique over and over).  I went over some guard passing, the arm-bar--omoplata--triangle from guard sequence as well as some Judo throws.

On a side note; as I was doing my first repetition for the judo throw Issac informed me that Ernesto was a Judo Black belt.  Bonus!!!  So Ernesto helped me with a few things and details that I was missing out with.  I was drilling the Tai Otoshi throw.  Ernesto helped me clean up a few details with the grips and pulling.  I've included a clip of the throw I was drilling.



I also learned that Issac, one of the guys staying with Tony (permanently), was a world champion at blue belt and placed third this year at the worlds (as a purple belt).  Look up Issac Doederlein on google.  Below is a clip of Issac vs Joao Miyao (very renowned Purple belt - who is one half of the famous Miayo brothers). If I had one regret it was not to take better advantage of having a Judo BB and a world class purple belt living in the same house.  Next time!




If you're interested in training at Cobrinha's academy in Los Angeles but do not want to have to pay ridiculous amounts for a hotel in Los Angeles.  I'd really recommend contacting Tony Kim and finding out if he has room in his place free for rent.  The price is comparable to the nearest hostel but a lot closer to the Academy than the hostel.  You'd also be in a house with other guys that train at Cobrinha's academy and would not have to worry about rides to classes.  You'd also have a bike at your disposal if you want to train on your own schedule.  There are also mats in the apartment building for doing some drilling if you so choose (both Tony and Issac are big on drilling).

Cobrinha is also holding a Masters & Seniors camp for the upcoming Masters and Seniors World Championships.  I do believe the Cobrinha's camp will be held from September 24 to October 6, 2012.  Everyone in the house was easy to get along with

Here is the contact e-mail for Tony Kim:

alliancebjjlosangeles@gmail.com


Back to my trip.  I was feeling pretty worked over after that marathon drilling session.  After showering up and changing I had something to eat then retired to my room to chill out and veg.  I had some serious insomnia this trip and I was up pretty late - not sure what time I actually fell asleep but I woke up sometime after noon on Wednesday.  I showered up and decided that I would go out for  a walk.

I walked out of the apartment, took left and headed down to Olympic Boulevard, took another left and walked east along the street.  The day before I had spotted a Brazilian eatery and I was determined to eat there.  And I did!  I had an old favorite that I had first eaten in Brazil --- Chicken, Rice, Black Beans.  Yum!  Here are few pictures:

The front of the Brazilian Cafe.

My favorite "File de Frango" --chicken, rice, & beans!

I first fell in love with the chicken, rice, and bean meal when I went to Brazil the first time - back in August of 2009.  This meal filled me up Big Time!  I got back to the apartment around 5:00pm and decided that I was going to bike ride down to the Academy and do the two fundamentals classes back to back.  Ernesto had informed me that it took about 20 minutes to get from the house to the academy on bike so I quickly packed up (a gi, some water, gatorade, etc.)  Borrowed Tony's mountain bike and threw on my back pack and headed out to Cobrinha's academy.

The academy is approximately 2miles from Tony's place and takes about 20mins if you're riding the bike.  It is a nice bike ride especially when you get to Wilshire Blvd.

Well - I'm going to stop this particular Blog here - I will be writing about my actual experiences training at the Cobrinha academy in the next couple of installments.  As well as some of the setbacks I encountered while in California.

So that was my first couple of days in Cali.  I had not made it in to Cobrinha's academy to train yet but I was mere minutes away from my first class with Cobrinha.

Stay tuned!

A.

First Few Days in California -Part 1

Well I've arrived in California; I've been here for two about a day.  My flight left from Calgary Alberta, Canada at approximately 3:30pm and had about a 1 hour stop over in Phoenix, Arizona.  While there I decided to get something to eat because I had not really eaten at all.  I decided to grab a burrito which was not such a big deal; except for the fact that I forgot to pack a tooth brush.  Which I did not find out till I got to the place I'm staying at.  More on that later.

Anyhow, after about an hour I boarded my plane and got ready to make the flight to Los Angeles.  The plane ended up being delayed about 30 minutes (from what I can gather).  We finally left Phoenix and made our way to L.A. which is about a 1hr flight.  Give or take a few minutes.

I arrived at the LAX airport, waited and waited for the plane to empty.  Made my way out to the luggage pickup area.  It was a bit of a wait.  While I was waiting for my luggage to come down the luggage carrier I realized that I had not written down the contact information of Tony (the guy from Cobrinha's academy who is renting out a room to me).  So I used my phone to log into the airport wi-fi and got the info I needed.

Tony had informed me that it would be best to try and get a shuttle bus from the airport.  At first I tried to hail a cab but they all keep driving by me.  So I kinda just stood around not sure what to do and at some point I noticed a bus that said "shuttle bus" that drove by me.  So I did my best to try and following.  Sure enough I found guy who was working for the shuttle bus and eventually I was able to catch the bus that was going where I wanted to go.

The bus driver took had to make a few stops at the airport but eventually we we off and on our.   This being my first time in L.A.  I had no idea were were were but we traveling at a pretty good pace.  About 20 minutes or so in to the drive the bus driver asked me if the address I had given him was in an office space - as we were in a area with a lot of tall buildings.  I informed him that as far as I knew it was in a office building.  He then told me to look out the window as we were coming up to the area in which the address I had given him was supposed to be.  As I was looking out the window we came upon a tall burgundy building that the driver informed me was the building that matched the address I had given him.  I looked over and immediately noticed a logo that was familiar to me.

*At this point I must add that I was not going to met Tony at his place but at the Cobrinha academy.

Here is the logo/sign that I saw from the van and how I knew I was at the right place.

I informed the driver that this was the place I was supposed to be dropped off.  He drove up a little further and found a drive way that he could turn around, drove back.  He dropped me off around the corner from the academy.  I hopped out of the van as did the driver and we made our way to the back of the van and we unloaded my luggage, I paid him the $26.00 for the lift.  And I made my way in to the building and academy of Cobrinha.

If you're interested in training with Cobrinha his academy contact info is:

Cobrinha Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu & Fitness
4929 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 104
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Telephone: 323-931-9953
E-mail: info@cobrinhabjj.com


Initially I went to the side of the building with the above logo which was locked and had to go around to the other side of the building.  I made my way in to the building.  There was a security guard who asked me where I was headed and I informed him that I was looking for the Jiu Jitsu Academy.  At which he smiled and pointed me straight ahead.  I walked in to the academy and was greeted by the lady at the front desk.  I informed her I was looking for Tony and she pointed me out to the mat.  Eventually I met Tony.  Training had just finished up and they were hanging out as many people like to do after training.  So I grabbed a seat on one of the couches.  Eventually Tony and his other room-mates - Isaac and Ernesto - changed up and we were on our way back to Tony's pad.

Here are a couple of pics from the front desk area of Cobrinha's academy:

The Cobrina Logo.

The front desk area - Alliance Jiu Jitsu logo.

Well that is it for the first installment of the trip.  I'm a bit late with writing and updating but as they say it's better late than never.

In case you're reading this and are totally unfamiliar with who Cobrinha is I'll add a youtube clip (my favorite ).  But if you're reading this I'd assume you're probably familiar with Jiu Jitsu and the top players.  For the sake of those who may be uninformed I'll add the clip anyhow.



This man has some seriously nice Jiu Jitsu.

Part 2 coming up soon.

Andre.

Plans

Just a quick update.

My plans for Brazil fell through; in addition my car decided to die on me.  So this summer has been a bust thus far.

On that note.  I have just booked my flight to Los Angeles - I'm going to be spending about a week at Rubens Charles "Cobrinha's" academy.  It's a short trip as I have to try and get some wheels (either get my lemon running or get a newer and more reliable vehicle.)

I will be putting up some photos and stories from my trip - I'll be leaving Monday August 06, 2012 and arrive late monday evening.  So training might not begin till Tuesday.  Either way I will be updating the my blog.

Here is a video to give you an idea of where I'll be training.


#1 showing a technique



#2 a clip of some warm up routines.



Till then, be safe and love what you're doing.

Andre

Qwick Update.

Well I've been off of here for awhile now.   A few things to update:

1.  I've been having some health issues that have keep me off of the mat.
      - I ended up getting an infection (kidney) that has really messed up my body.
      - As a result of the kidney infection I ended up with a urinary tract infection that is still giving me problems.
      - continued problems with digestion and stomach.
      - major acne breakout on my chest.

2.  Depression came roaring back (perhaps accentuated by the kidney infection and the myriad of health problems since?).

3.  Problems with work - co-workers (one in particular) have made work an less than enjoyable place to be.

4.  financial problems - it just seems that I'm barely making it to my next pay check.  Working to pay bills and just the everyday things in life (gas - I wish their were viable and affordable options to using a petro based vehicle). 

Because of the above problems I've not had the energy nor the desire to train (although it is on my mind all the time).  I'm still dealing with the symptoms from the infection and it is starting to become worrisome.  I try not to think of the worst but it is hard not to.

I'm going to be scheduling an appointment with my doctor again next week to try and get things figured out or at least start to finding out what may be the problem.

I had tried training about a month and a half ago to less than desirable results.  To start off my conditioning was awful and as a result I could not last more than 30 seconds going at a mild pace.  The breakouts on my chest were still bad (I had been on the antibiotics for about 2 weeks at that time) and they were busting open and bleeding - which is a concern in regards to infection and a did bear on me mentally.  I was also, for whatever reason, bleeding at the drop of a hat.  Little scrapes would not stop bleeding.  I ended up only training for about a 20 mins then called it a night and a day (for about a month and half.).

I still want to train, I still have my goals and reasons for continuing this long journey.  It has just taken a detour.  I'm not sure what will happen in the next few weeks - as I will be going to see my doctor and begin the process of trying to figure out what is up with me.  Mentally, the sun is out (spring time), I have noticed a slight change in my mood with the added sunlight.  Winter was really wearing on me.  Waking up and leaving for work when it was still dark out and not getting home till it was dark - that is not the dream.

I  managed to make it in this past week to train.  I'm on my Easter break and taking care (house sitting) the parents house while they are off with my sisters and kids in California (Disneyland).  I'm pretty much isolated out at my parents house (no internet).  I do have cell phone service (somewhat).   I happened to check my phone and facebook on Monday afternoon and noticed that one of the guys from the gym was going to open the academy up for an open mat.  I ended up driving the 3hrs to go train and it was very good for the soul to be back doing what I need to be doing, doing the one thing that never lets me down.

I compare BJJ to having a girlfriend (or boyfriend - whatever the case may be).  As it is a relationship, a relationship that gives back whatever I put into it.  Is always there and has never let me down; unlike every relationship that I've ever been in.

While I've been on hiatus I've been watching video clips, reading articles, etc that have anything to do with BJJ.  Anyhow I had seen the video of Keenan Cornelius doing an armbar from 50/50 guard.  Having trained at, and being a fan of, Ryan Hall's gym I have played around with the 50/50 guard but I'm not at the level where I can heel-hook ( I also rarely do no-gi anymore) so I really did not see many options from this guard; other than sweeping.  Anyhow, this offers up a cool possibility for me.  I even played around with trying to get the armbar from 50/50 on Monday night - to very little success.  Here is the clip of the armbar from 50/50:



This was from the recent PanAms Jiu Jitsu tournament.  Also at this particular tournament we may have seen the passing of the guard in featherweight division.  Rafa Mendes has been on a tear and was neck in neck with Ruben Charles (Cobrinha) for the top dog in that particular division.  But at this years past PanAms Rafa dispatched of Cobrinha in stunning fashion (armbar).  Here is the clip;



I've also been wanting to try the following pass (demonstrated by Caio Terra) but having been on off of the mats for so long I had not had a chance to try it out.  Well i tried it out a few times on Monday night and had some success; all things considered (mind you I have not trained in over a month and a half and before that it had been at least a few weeks since I had trained).  It is a very high percentage pass from what I've been told and just with my little bit of experience with it it is indeed a high percentage pass (passing the butterfly guard). 



I have to iron out some details but I definitely think this will be added to my arsenal (such as it is).  A friend of mine informed me that he knows it as the Terere pass; I consulted my Andre Galvao book and it indeed bares a similar mechanics to the Terere pass (look up it up as I'm having trouble finding it on youtube).

Anyhow, that is my update for now;  hopefully my health issues will be non-existent next time I update.

I'll leave you with a cool clip of Rafa Training for Abu Dhabi 2011.



Ciao!


Andre

Sickness, Mouthguards, inspiration...

Well my training this week has been put on hold this week because of some dental/tooth problems.  I finally got in to the dentist today so hopefully the problems and pain will not dominate my life anymore.

The lesson I've take from the past few days:

INVEST IN A DECENT MOUTH GUARD.  I'm not sure what caused the complications - if I bit on something and cracked my tooth or if it was Jiu Jitsu related (it would not be the first time).  Either way I do need to invest in a mouth guard.  Dentist work is expensive (thank god for a job that has coverage) and I do not want to have to keep going back to fix things that were fixed.  For the time being I'm going to go grab a double (covering your upper and bottom teeth) mouth guard from Wal-mart (the boil and bite kind).

I also started catching a fever/cold on Monday which has made the past few days even that much more unbearable at work.  I feel like I've run 10 miles by noon each day.  I'm still feeling very weak and sore from the fever but I think I've managed to avoid a full blown fever (you know the kind that leave you unable to leave your bed and if you do leave your bed you're pretty much useless).

Well on to more important things.  I'm planning on hitting the mats tomorrow (Friday) for an open mat.  My goal is to do my version of a drill/workout that I learned at Ryan Hall's academy last summer.  Said workout/drill is called Marathon Roll - which consists of 10 back to back rolling sessions with different partners of 5 minutes, with 1 minute rest and no quitting once you've started.  You'll read about if I end up doing it.  Either way my tooth/mouth should not be hurting me much and my fever/cold seems to be on the down slide.  Thus, I should be okay to do some training.

As I've gotten older I've learned that when I'm sick and or injured that I need to take the time off to rest and heal.  If I don't then it usually leads to just getting worse and worse.  I've also taken a closer look at my nutrition and have tried to eat better - lean meats, protein powder, vitamins, fruits, vegetables, etc.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm by no means Mr. Clean Eating but compared to even a year ago I'm eating a lot better.  I've looked into fuelling and recovery before and after workout/training.   All in all I'm still experimenting with everything.

In short I've been trying to eat better, recover better (sleep, pre and post workout), stretch, Hot/Cold showers (look it up), vitamins, breathing (you'd be surprised how much learning to breath properly helps you physically and mentally).  Most importantly just letting go of the things and people that pull me down, hurt me, and basically don't bring anything positive into my life.

On my last post  (link below) - I just want to add that I've noticed that the North/South Choke is a slower choke.  By this I mean is not an instant choke like say the Guillotine or Rear Naked Choke.  Once you've gotten the position and choke in place it feels like a gradual tightening then BAM! It's too late and you'll nap if you don't tap.  Where as the RNC or Guillotine you feel the pressure immediately and if you don't tap right away you be asleep.  I've noticed that the North/South traps the opponent but he (me) can feel the gradual tightening but there is time to tap (which is not always the case with RNC and Guillotines).  It does reach a point (from my limited time playing with the technique) where you DO feel that point of no return and THINGS do start to fade.  Anyhow, watch the videos I posted, buy Marcelo's book or subscribe to MGA (Marcelo Garcia in Action). and be patient.  It is a great technique to add to your arsenal from side control.

Last Blog - with North/South stuff

If you're familiar with competition Brazilian Jiu Jitsu then you'll no doubt know who Rodolfo Vieira is - basically he is the competitor who has taken the the Gi world by storm.  And is a serious challenger to Roger Gracie's dominance of the past few years.  I came across this little documentary last week.  It is a three part series in to Rodolfo's regime and what it takes to be a World Champion in Jiu Jitsu (or anything for that matter). If I do make it Rio this summer I would love to take a day or two from my Gordo Jiu Jitsu family and train at GFT and perhaps meet and train with Rodolfo???  Anyhow, if you're needing inspiration watch the videos and take in some lessons from someone who has dedicated everything to the thing he loves doing.

Part 1:



Part 2:




Part 3:




So that is my little update for this Blog.  In case you're stuck in a rut or lacking inspiration (even after viewing the above videos) I'll plug this story again.  The 78 yr old man who recently received his Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

78 yr old BB - Gracie Mag Story

Till next time . . .

. . . Life, Love, and Jiu Jitsu

A.

Back to training, Summer Plans, North/South Choke, Portuguese for BJJ

So I've finally gotten back to training. Gracie Barra Calgary - I started about 2 weeks ago and have been going 2-3 times per week as time and body permit.

I'm in the process of trying to decide where I'm going to go train this coming summer.  Ideally I'd love to get back to Brazil, Rio and the family at Gordo Jiu Jitsu.  But as with most things in life it does not happen till it happens.  The flight is going to be expensive, and if I do go back I want to be able to have my own room at the new Connection Rio house and I do believe that will be expensive as well.

I've been looking into going to NYC and training with my personal BJJ/Grappling hero Marcelo Garcia.  I've been looking into apartments and any money I save on flights will be made up by booking an apartment in NYC.  Expensive place.  I'm attracted to going to NYC to not only train with Marcelo but because I'd just like to see the City - it has been on my list of places to go before I'd ever thought I'd be travelling the world to train BJJ.  Here is a link to Marcelo's academy in NYC:

Marcelo Garcia NYC Academy

My other wish would be to train with Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles.  About two weeks ago I came across his academy webpage and I would love to spend a few weeks there.  The only hitch is that it is on the other side of the USA in California.  If you've read my blog you should know that Marcelo Garcia is a favourite of mine but you might not be aware of Cobrinha.  Here is my personal favourite Cobrinha highlight:



Here is a link to Cobrinha's academy website:

Cobrinha BJJ Academy

If I'm not able to make it to Rio this summer my plan is to spend 2 weeks training at Marcelo Garcia's academy in NYC, then fly west to Cali and spend another 2 weeks training at Cobrinha's academy.  So at this moment my options are open but I'm looking to book flights and accommodations asap to save money.

So upon returning to training I've been able to somewhat work on a few things that I've been researching and that have been on my mind while on hiatus from training BJJ.  One of the techniques that I've been wanting to explore was the North/South Choke.  I've recently purchased Marcelo's newest book and there is a big section on his favourite chokes - basically the Guillotine, Rear-naked Choke, and North/South.  I've spent my time working on the Rear-naked Choke - even prior to training at Gracie Barra Calgary - it had been one of my favourite techniques.  Mainly, due in part, to being a big fan of not only Marcelo Garcia but BJ Penn as well.  I'd played around with the North/South in the past but had not really tried it out.

Prior to returning to training I'd some some research - both through book and youtube stuff that is out there - on the North/South Choke.  So once I got back in to it I was able to pull a few training partners off to the side and drill the set up and finish to this particular choke.  Besides Marcelo's book the following YouTube clips have helped out (of course nothing beats mat time, drilling and live training):

Marcelo explaining it himself:



Here is Stephan Kestling with Marcelo braking down the choke for him:



I've been able to catch a couple of guys with and I'm in the process of working out the nuances of the choke.  I hope that eventually I can add it to my repertoire - such as it is.

Well that's about it for this round of blogging, writing, and BJJ updating.  Before I leave you I'd like to point you to a website and post that I came across - Portuguese for BJJ.  If you ever plan on going to Brazil to train it would be good to have some knowledge of Portuguese (especially if it pertains to something you love doing; in this case BJJ).  Enjoy:

Introduction to Portuguese for BJJ

Well that's it for now - hope you're training or following and doing whatever makes you smile and your heart float.

Till next time...

A.

I forgot to add this little news clip - it fills me with such hope and inspiration.

78 yr old man receives his Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

I hope to attain my Black belt within the next 5yrs - lofty aspirations but what the hell; 4 years ago I would have never dreamed that I would quit my job and  move to Brazil to train bjj.  here's to making dreams and hopes happen...