Private with Gordo...

As mentioned in the previous post I had a private with Gordo on Tuesday.

Beforehand I didn't really have anything in mind that I wanted to work on. But after thinking about problem areas (or parts of my game I could use some improvement) I had during rolling on Monday and the Tuesday morning, I thought I'd like to work on creating space from the bottom especially side mount. As a smaller guy it REALLY SUCKS to be stuck under a heavier dude, ESPECIALLY when they got the side mount.

Basically from side mount I was give three options:
[1] Recover guard/half guard,
[2] Turn onto your belly down then get on your knees and work from there;
[3] Bait them into going for mount then as they go into mount regain the guard (timing is important with that one).

I once regaining guard I was given a few options:
[1] take the back,
[2] sweep while holding the foot,
[3] sweep while grabbing the knee. So this links onto

And a few other little things like escaping the arm triangle then getting back to half guard or pointers on how to defend when they have your back. It was just enough for 1 one lesson otherwise I would of had a brain overload. Also the sweeps he showed me I'd already been shown by Dennis so it was like I already had a foundation to build on. But just the way he explained things and gave alternate options that tied into everything made it all kind of click in my head. It's like when you already know something, but then you suddenly understand the reasoning behind it.

I'm definitely going to be hitting up more privates before I leave.

Training in general...

I've really been starting to feel the improvements in my jiu jitsu the past couple of weeks. Even though the vibe in classes has been a bit laid back because of holiday season. It feels like all the techniques and drills I've been learning and doing the past couple of months are starting to come together and fit into place. Like I'm connecting the little dots in my head. There's still a lot I need work on but it definitely feels like I'm starting to level up somewhat. I feel like I'm surviving better against guys I was just behind or struggling with at the start and I'm understanding better the angles and positions and weight.

Also I bought a white shirt for NYE to wear at Copacabana beach. Hopefully it won't rain! And if it does hopefully it isn't heavy. Saw this on youtube:

Anyways this will be my last post for the year. So I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year and that you're all not too hung over tomorrow. Peace!

51 days...

That's how much time I have left in Brasil :(

Damn time flies and it will go even faster in the following month because I've got New Years Eve, my mum and her husband will be coming and we'll be off to Foz do Iguazu/Bonito/Pantanal for a 1.5wks; and then Carnival. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing more of the country, since I've only spent my time in Rio, but at the same time I really wish I could spend that time in Rio squeezing in as much training as I can before I leave. I'm feeling a kind of sense of urgency to get all the things I've wanted to get done accomplished before I leave (visiting other gyms, tourist places around Rio, buying souveneirs etc). It's starting to feel like I'm doing last minute studying for exams.

For NYE I'm going to be going out to Copacabana to celebrate with the gringos and the 1 million or so other revellers over there. Should be quite an experience. Some of the traditions I've heard about it are:
- Dress all in white
- Jump over seven waves
- Bring flowers to throw into the sea?
- Different coloured underwear brings different kinds of "luck" eg. Money (yellow), love (red?), peace (blue?) etc.

Training has been pretty relaxed the past couple of weeks for Christmas and now New Years. But I've still gotten in some good sessions and still learning something new each day. Tomorrow I'll be having my first private with Gordo so that should be something to blog about.

Also here is a recent look at the Connection Rio HQ with some interviews of the guys (including myself) and a look at the training sessions in the afternoon with Dennis.

Feliz Natal...

I spent Christmas at the Connection Rio HQ with the other gringos. We had a bbq for lunch. Then spent some time at the beach (got wiped out trying to surf... Note: need wax for the surfboard). Then more bbq for dinner and watched a couple movies.

Tommy was the chef for the bbq and everything tasted sooo good. Flo made some salads so we didn't have just meat and there was plenty of cold refreshing Guarana Antartica and Coca-cola to drink.

Eating good food and chilling out by the pool with some good tunes and good friends seems to be the best way to spend a holiday. Looking forward to the next time we get to do this.

Churrasco de fim de ano

On Saturday we had a bbq for the academy. R$50 for all you could eat bbq and drinks. There was more beer than there were soft drinks or water so it was entertaining seeing everyone getting a buzz/tipsy, especially some of the BB letting loose. There were games of futebol (I suck so sat on the sidelines so I didn't make a fool of myself), lots of meat and some belt promotions to be handed out.

All in all it was a good day and great to hang out with everyone outside of training and see a different side to them. It really was amusing to me to see some of the higher belts letting loose, especially when you always see them instructing in class or rolling all bad ass then you see them getting a little tipsy and playing around. Good times, good times.

"Junkyard" taking a nap in the bbq area

A friendly game of futebol

Everyone gathered around for the end of year speech and belt promotions

Just some of the black belts present at the bbq. [L-R] Rommel, Jesus, Zoro, Gordo, Dennis and Neto.

MANY group and individual photos were taken after the speech and people just chilled out, kept drinking, eating, talking and having a good time.

Me with Rommel and Tom.... me with Zoro with both Tom's photobombing the pic

Just one of the many pics taken while everyone was hanging out.

With world champ Neto.

Smaller group pic before the bigger group pic.

Asian gringos with Thiago, newly promoted to Brown belt that day. Parabens!

Trying to get the big group pic organised.

MMA shopping in Rio de Janeiro...

If you are in Rio for training one of the things you might want to know about is where to buy mma/jiu jitsu gear. So I thought I would dedicate a post to that and the places I know of so far where you can buy some gear.

How many Kimonos/Gi's to bring...

Some people may wonder how many kimonos/gi's to bring down. My answer would be that it all depends on how often you are going to train. If you plan on training alot (2x a day, 5-6 days a week) it would take a little planning ahead to rotate your gis so you're not always training in sweaty smelly ones or missing class because they're in the wash.

Alot of places have at least 3 or 4 jiu jitsu classes a day 5 days a week, with an open mat session on the Saturday. Usually I try do classes a day (a morning and afternoon/night class) a day and catch the open mat on Saturdays, so that's around 10 or so classes a week. Sometimes I might do 3 a day (a boxing or extra jiu jitsu) if I feel up to it or to catch up on the days I've only been able to do one class.

When I came here I didn't have any gis but bought 2 basic gis (R$160 each) at the gym. I'd probably use each for gi or two days, alternating and letting one dry before using the other. When the weather is sunny you can wash a kimono out and it'll dry in one day or less but if it's the rainy season you're really going to have to plan it out because they might take up to 2 or 3 days to dry.

Gloves, supplements etc...

If you're wanting to buy gloves or any other kind of gear I'd say just bring it from home. Pretty much any overseas brands imported into Brasil is going to be expensive.

Although there is a sale on at SNC on Avenida Olegario Maciel in Barra da Tijuca selling about 1kg of protein powder for R$99. SNC also have a number of outlets in Barra at Citta America, Barra Shopping and some other places.

Sports Nutrition Centre (SNC) website

Avenida Olegario Maciel, 440 Loja D

Barra da Tijuca - Rio de Janeiro

Tel: (21)2494-3522

Pride Fightwear...

Pride Fightwear make some good lightweight kimonos, they also have MMA shorts, rashguards, shirt, singlets and a few other fashionable items. Alot of the guys from Gordo's wear Pride Fightwear gi's to training PLUS they dry quickly compared to some other gi's which might take a few days to dry.

When you go enter the building take the stairs at the end up to the next floor (2nd) and you should see the store right in front of you on the other side of the hall.

You can see the Pride Fightwear sign in the top right.. and left of the pictures. Also the gold buddha statue is pretty hard to miss.

The building might be hard to spot from the main road because if you're going into Barra da Tijuca from Zona Sul it's on the left side before the bridge and Downtown Shopping. You also might see some Medical centre on the right side of the road.

Pride Fightwear Address:

Pride website

Avenida Armando Lombardi, 949

Barra da Tijuca

Rip Dorey...

There's a Rip Dorey store in Copacabana that may be a bit hard to find if you're not sure where to look. Basically it's inside a shopping building, that doesn't look like a shopping building on the outside. This building is great because there's about 3 MMA/Jiu Jitsu type stores in there selling shirts, kimonos and other MMA/jiu jitsu related gear. Rip Dorey is on the 11th floor, but on the way up you can stop on the 4th and 8th floors to look at a brand called Survivor (4th floor) and the old school Hunter brand (8th floor).

This is a picture of the store from the outside. Santa Clara 33, you have to enter on the narrow passage way on the right and either take the stairs or elevator.

The "Survivor" brand store on the left.

Rip Dorey Address:

Rip Dorey website

Rua Santa Clara 33, Store (Lojas) 1107 - 1108

Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro

Ph: (21) 3208-2136

There's still some other places around Rio I'd like to check out and I'll be updating this post when I do get around to it. So keep tabs on it.