It will take me through three states and a whole lot of hard work away but I'm up for it...
Keep in mind this is a LONG one so bear with me...I waited too long to put this up but if I didn't I'd forget...
Friday...Starting off..I had my procedure the same day I ended up leaving...Not a good Idea to have 12 needles stuck into your spine and then get on a planes (aside from a LOT of drama between that time)....Anyways, the flight was cool (I got bumped to First class!) and I arrived on time....
Got to the airport, got my bags ( a welcome happening after the Portugal debacle) and went off to the hotel...
I get there (The Hilton on Courtland downtown in the ATL) and the valet parking is full as is the self parking...so i end up parking across the street in the parking lot of a strip club (yes..there's a FULL nekkit titty bar RIGHT across the street) ... then i get into the hotel...they tell me that i can't be helped with my bags (those that know me know i over pack) because the bellman is "helping other customers" (at 2:30AM!!!!) ..come to find out..dude left to go get sumn to eat... then..i get to the room she gives me...and it's a SMOKING double room...not the NON smoking King that i am supposed to have...she tells me imma have to stay in one of them tiny ass beds in a smoking rm until the next morning...i tell her HELL no..show her my back and she "finds" a room..albeit with double beds as she cant give me one of the suites left...needless to say i left a nasty complaint with Hilton....This was the worst of everything so far....
Saturday...
I get to training camp...First session...
It's like Jiu-Jitsu Heaven...There are guys who have won and placed at Mundials in the blue/purple/brown categories as well as a lot of other big tournaments...In addition, some of the best jiu-jitsu players on the planet....All studied under Professor Jacare' Cavalcanti (this is who my Instructor- Allen Mohler got his black belt from)...Fabio Gurgel, Felipe Neto, Soluco, Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles, Lucas Lepri, Tarsis Humphries, among others...I'm really feeling anxious as class starts as I really want to prove I fit (really that I am ready for promotion to Marrom) my rank, and represent my home school and training from coach Mohler and Marcus well...Plus at least a handful of guys, including Cobrinha made congratulatory remarks on me being in Gracie magazine...
Class begins and the warm ups are GREAT but harsh...i think we spent about 30-45 min on warm ups alone...the procedure on my back was working as my back did get REAL tight, but did not lock up...and my rib,though i could feel the tweaking, did not prevent me moving, though i was tentative on certain moves......then we move on to techniques ...due to us using these at Pan Ams, all I will say is that session was on take downs and reversals...this too was really intense...
On to rolling...We were doing 10 minute rounds, keeping points, and track of submissions...all startng knee to knee
1st roll was with a really good purple belt who'd come down to train for the camp from NC...This round I got a Triangle and a lapel choke...I did give up a reversal though:(...at the end I was was up 7-2...
2nd Roll with a brown belt who I've wanted to roll with since last year's Mundials...He was a purple then...Caught him in Triangle form my modified spider guard oma plata set up...:-D...rolled to a 2-2 tie in pts otherwise though I think I would have gotten a few advantages...
3rd roll with a purple who is a bit bigger than me and has placed at Pans at purple b4....got a triangle..triangle arm bar...cross choke...and over under collar choke...I actually pull off a reverse, over the shoulder flip spin reversal from guard when he stands up that catches the notice of Professor Jacare'..that was a highlight of the night!!!!...forgot the pts...
4th roll..another brown belt but i forget where he was from...he got a pass and tried this choke we were working but i remembered the counter from class back at home!...I applied it and scooted out and took his back....four pts...bow and arrow choke....then we move on to rolling more and i got a pass...worked for a side arm bar that i trained at class with coach and pulled it off...ended 7-3
5th roll
did shadow rolling with the purple form the third roll...was good to get movement in that manner to flow better...and we were watching Tarsis roll with Fabio and Cobrinha and Lucas go at it ....we forgot pts but the flowing transitions we got helped us retain the stuff we'd worked on technique portion of class...
The time flew by...That was almost 3 1/2 hours of class time...the cool down and talks from the black belts there were invaluable afterward...Was a good day..and for some reason...I was tired but not beat down and exhausted!
I am in way better shape than I thought...A good feeling going into this weekend...
Second session..I went in and assisted with some privates (basically being a grappling dummy) but this paid off as I got to soak up some great instruction and got my cardio worked as well as reinforced my techniques learned earlier...
Saturday Night...
I drove down to Birmingham to be my boy Kelly Rundle's corner man in his fight with the legendary Skip Hall at this really nice spot...Zamora Shriner's Temple.....Hell, Kelly is a legend to me too...I was honored to be there and getting to tape his hands and help him prepare for the fight was a great experience....Kelly won the fight by TKO (Ref. Stoppage)...Looking forward to his next fight..and I must say..him and skip both are inspirations for staying in shape and being warriors no matter what the age!
Easter Sunday...
Up at 6...Cardio with the team...All I can say is...DAMN....seeing these guys compete at Mundials, Pan AMs, Brasileiro's etc is one thing,and knowing how good black belts in BJJ are, it's amazing to train with and see how extra and over the top their preparation and knowledge etc is (it's the same way I look at Marcus' incredible training regimen)...It's ridiculous....My pride gets me through it though...
Later on that day, we, as a team, all go to Kennisaw Mountain...site of a famous Civil War Battle to "soak up the warrior spirit and bond as a team" as Professor Jacare' said...Was a LONG walk up to the top, not sure but it felt like a couple miles but we walked up and got some great pictures and a good feel for the guys...
Note: I have felt like a part of the team, and VERY welcome, since I got to the training center...There's been no hint of these world champion guys looking down at me or even the newest white belts...It's all been about getting everyone ready and feeling together in that quest...That's been a great part of this...
As for the Mountain it was great to take that time and get pictures and talk outside training as I was feeling a bit lonely being here on Easter and alone...
That night I did my hour of cardio and ate ...
I was about 206.8 that night but with all this training i am not sure how I am keeping the weight on...
Monday Early session...
After this mornings cardio I'm still feeling surprisingly good!...I get to class early and joke around with Cobrinha and it's going to be another big class...The first sessions were about 50 deep in addition to the regular class guys...
The warm ups today were a bit....different...all were (in addition to jiu-jitsu specific stretching) jiu-jitsu specific bodyweight partner drills/warm ups....Needless to say this was draining!....but satisfying once again because it seems the injection procedure on my back and ribs worked...well we worked on reversals and passes today to some pretty good submissions...it's amazing to see the way these guys come up with things in positions i'v never known existed....
Oce we get to rolling it's the same structure...10 min rounds...starting knee to knee...
1st is with this Brown belt that has me by about 30 lbs at least and as I've watched has a very crushing game...we start and i end up getting to half guard on top and work my side lapel choke but he counters and reverses....he gets a pass but recover quickly and got a sweet hook and flip (it's amazing sometimes what u can do when u just don't hesitate!)...so i even it up and work for this baseball bat variation Lucas Lepri showed earlier..and got it!!!! we end tied in pts but i got a sub in there...plus, he worked the pass, that spelled the beginning of the end for me in the Machado tournament...but with help from coach Allen, and Marcus...the counters they gave me work PERFECTLY so that won't work again on me...
2nd roll was against the purple about my size from the day before..i am hoping he does well in his division as we talk a lot on strategy and he's a cool dude...we start and i actually get the takedown from knees...i work to knee on belly and work for the cross choke from there which he blocks but give the arm bar...we work again and i work to guard on purpose for a change...i work a good reversal but he blocks as he is wary of the triangle..so i set the over under collar choke and when he blocks i throw the triangle and reverse to on top again...i didn't fiinish but transition to side...we end there...
3rd roll...is with a brown who's going to Pans as well...we start and he is really aggressive in going for the driving takedown on me...i lose that position so he is up...but i end up working on him in my half guard which i recompose to full in short measure...i decide to work to my spider set up to see if it will work on someone that good...he sees what he thinks is an opening and kind of surprises me with his movement but i decide to go anyway and deal with the consequences if he gains position and instead of oma plata i see triangle...well i get the set...but we are against the wall...Professor restarts us and he puts his hand inside further but...i am composed, and because I see Jacare' and Fabio and Tarsis watching, i work to make certain it's finished...i counter his every counter while digging for my shin to lock the choke deeper...it takes me about 45-60 seconds but i lock it in...and get the tap!!!He was up on pts but I got it...we restart and i could see he turned his game up..he rushed for the pass side to side feverishly and almost got control of my legs but I worked open guard re composure well and frustrated him more...i start throwing attacks and arm drags to take away his aggressiveness but the round ends there...
A feeling of pride came over me then because I wanted to feel worthy of the next level, and even though I see the amount of work I need...I KNOW i can hold it...anywhere...if i can hold my own here...
4th roll is with a huge purple that is also going down to Pan Ams...felt good because it seems among my peers at my level I can readily work which ever game i want now...i've become partial to the lapel choke from side control and working a particular over under pass (if u read through here u will see it come up a lot in my passing) and I got that one in addition to a triangle from mount, and took the back from half guard well...forgot the pts but i was up pretty good in that one...
That's the end of the 3 hour class session...
After this..I stretch and cool down.... and work with Tarsis Humphries for an hour...we worked passes and a few reversals...but mostly on passes and little techniques that I miss in my rolling that he noticed I leave out...This helped GREATLY....after about 50 minutes of this he asks if I'd like to roll to see what I retained...I said yes...but in my mind I'm shakin....Well we start and he sets himself up to see if I would hesitate in taking advantage of the passes he worked with me..actually on one that I am SURE to be using a LOT form here on out he gave me a compliment...then we roll for real...when we start i sit to guard...to work form my strength...i mean hell if imma roll with a world ranked black belt i better work in a string area...well hell it aint that strong to him...not sure the break he used..but i knew..once it was open i had to move..i did and rolled and threw a triangle at him (i surprised myself i threw it that well)...well he didn't se eit coming but he countered it...but after that..he turned up the intensity! lol honestly it was humbling...he only submitted me once, but i knew he could have at any time..though he did give me compliment for almost getting a reversal as he tried to throw a triangle at me from mount...i picked up a lot from that roll..but even more so...he asked that i come early to late class...so we could roll a bit to see if i retained everything and wanted to make sure i worked everything to see if i had questions...
Night session was a repeat of the early one, except the rolling was ten minute sessions for the first three... and 8 after...and i worked more passing and transitions..i got at least two passes each roll...and i threw submissions but didn't finish to see where i would go if i lost them....and were situational and strategy sessions which i won't cover in here for team secrecy reasons! :-D....Anyways.....Things have been great so far...looking forward to cardio at 6 and the two sessions tomorrow...then off Wednesday to see Marcus win his fight!...(Remember to watch on Versus Channel wherever you are live Wednesday night!!!)...
Another installment soon...Keep up the prayers on my back/neck..even though it feels good..I think what was given was more to get me through but not necessarily to heal...I don't know though...Being this content with training etc, I don't know what I will do if I lose the ability to, even for a year.
God Bless and thank you for taking the time to read this....
I am feeling pretty good...I'm happy to be able to train and not do much else...
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