World Championships Post Dinner

Last night I had some BJJ Friends and their wives over.   We decided weeks in advance that we would get together  Sunday afternoon after Master World Championships because then none us were going to have to worry about cutting weight and we could indulge without fear of the scale the next day.

One of the guys who came over had a Son who should be on The Food Channel.  He is 13 years old, and a very good BJJ practioner but also an excellent Chef.  He made a Chinese Sea Food Soup that was incredible.  (Tom Yum Soup)

One of the reasons we got together is to let our wives meet each other and also to give support to each other as sometimes all married men who do BJJ (unless your wife trains with you) can get the "Why are you going to BJJ so often?" line from wifey.  We felt like if our wives could see we were not the only crazy ones that would be good for us.  Also there is one guy we invited that trains like Crazy.  He does 2 a days plus 2 private lessons a week.  He spends over $500 a month on BJJ lessons and I thought that with him there we would all look like slackers by comparison and our wives would see that we were not the most hard core jiujiteors our there.

What started  out as a good dinner and a show of how the guys that made more workout did better at Worlds turned into the end of a BJJ Wives Anonymous meeting where the Women just sat and discussed why their husbands could not do this or that because of a BJJ injury or because they were too tired.  (This or that has to do with Chores around the house and running errands not other things that may or may not have popped into your mind.  At the end of the day all was well.  Some of the wives decided we were not so bad and they would let their husbands train more.  All in all it was good fun and the wives all seemed to enjoy being together with other wives who have husbands that share the same passion. Also it seemed in the end when the dust had settled most of the Women were happy their husbands were doing BJJ and were willing to let them train as much as they could.  They even suggested getting together next month and inviting a couple of wives (and husbands who train elsewhere) to come over and join the fun.

BJJ Problems. Bad Fingers.

I have not written for a while but I have had lots of stuff to write about.  Just busy so I thought I would save it for later.

I am getting ready for Master Worlds and for me that mostly means trying to avoid getting injured as the healing time takes way to long.  I have had many team mates close to my age that start working harder for a big tournament and get busted up and end up not being able to perform like they wanted.
I think old guys need to understand that they cannot train like Young Guys no matter what the Professor or their own brain says.  It just does not work out.  I think that is the biggest struggle for older Jiu Jitsu players.  Our minds are strong but our bodies just don't respond like we want them to.

One thing that I am getting used to is for the referee to ask me to take of my wedding ring.  I cannot get the ring off.  It has been on my finger for 31 years.  In fact at the last tournament I went to I worked to get the ring off before I competed and was able to get it off the middle knuckle but the top knuckle has grown so much (thank you Spider Guard) that the ring was stuck between the middle and top knuckle on my hand.  It took me another few minutes and some oil to get it back down to the correct spot on the finger.  I guess I could label this under BJJ Problems.

Now I just put some tape over it so I don't have to worry about them stopping the match and asking me about it.

I been involved in a lot of youth sports and BJJ Parents seem better then most.

Just to give you that don't know me well some background.  I have had daughters on a swim team for the last 18 years.  We just spent 5 days in blazing heat in the Inland Empire watching our youngest daughter swim.  I saw many parents who were getting really worked  when their child added time.  They would pull them aside and berate them about their lack of hard work at practice and other problems with their strokes, not being tough enough etc. The parents were really agitated.

 I was sitting with the Coaches when a swimmer from another team came up to his Coach and told him that his mother was going to buy him one of the new $400 swim suits.  He asked the Coach which one would make him swim fastest.  The Coach said if you want to get faster tell your mom to bring you to practice more often.  It will save you the $400.

3 weeks ago I was at American Nationals BJJ tournament and as part of the UFC event they also had a high level youth wrestling tournament, 6 and under, 8 and under, 10 and under, etc in all weight classes These kids had come from all over the country and it seemed like it was most likely an invite only type of tournament because their were lots of individuals there but did not seem to be lots of  full teams of wrestlers and coaches that traveled as a team.   The problem this created is that the kids were coached mostly by the parents.  They let the parents sit around the circle of the mat while their child/athlete competed.  The behavior I saw from these parents was out of control.  In swimming I see parents yell at their kids during the event all the time but the kids heads are under water and the swimmer rarely can hear a parent yelling.  During the Wrestling Matches the parents were sometimes inches from their athletes face yelling at them not to be a quitter and getting very upset.  I saw 3 times where they had to bring in an extra referee to stand between the Parents and the kids.  Then when the match was over the parents went crazy.  Now just to be fair it was a very intense environment, these kids were competing at a very high level.  I saw 8 year olds doing suplexes on other wrestlers.  I was very impressed with the skill set of the kids who attended this tournament and I would guess that most of them were state champions or region champions and none of them were used to getting beat.  You could see it in almost every match.  When one kid knew he was not as good as the kid he was going against the tears started to fall.  The amount of intensity that was there was incredible.  I think the kids were crying because they had a fear or disappointing their parents more then actually losing the match.  I would really like to take some of these kids and see if they are qualifying for NCAA's in 8-12 years.

Then two weeks ago I was at the Kids World BJJ tournament.  First the quality of the kids was great.  The parents did not seem to be too over the top.  Sure they were cheering and holding up signs but for the most part the  parents accepted defeat easily and complimented their child on a job well done.  Only once did I see a Parent get upset and that was because the kid started crying and ran to the edge of the mat and fell down crying uncontrollably.  I am not sure if the parent was upset about the kid losing or the behavior afterward.   The parents seemed to be much better.

My question is why?  My short answer is that most parents in swimming and wrestling have an existing knowledge of the sport.  They may have participated in it in the past and they think they have the ability to coach their kids.  I think with BJJ it is so new to most parents they really don't understand it well enough to be obnoxious.  Do you think there is validity  to this or are  BJJ Parents just more respectful then other Sport's parents?

The Key to Longevity in BJJ is to tap quick

I have been fortunate  to win a few tournaments.  First of all let me tell you I'm not that good.  I have been able to win because I compete in an Older Age Group (Masters 5) I have been able to catch some of my best competitors right after a match so they are already tired.  I am pretty good at defending submissions and I know how to score points.

I talk with many of my fellow competitors and I have come to the conclusion that we are doing this for fun not to kill each other and no one wants to have to be carried off the mat.  In fact most of the time we talk this is what we talk about.  Now let me tell you that everyone goes hard and tries their best to win but in the long run most of us would rather lose with a quick tap then win and limp for a week because we were ahead on points and we were able to deal with the ankle  lock the guy put on us.

We have heard many say that BJJ is like Chess.  Move, counter move,  staying one step ahead of your opponent, bait them into doing a move that will benefit you etc.  I agree but one thing that Older Guys seem to get that younger guys don't is that when the other guy has done a move and has got you in the Submission Correctly the Older Guys just tap and say good job and aren't willing to break an arm to get out of a arm-bar or willing to risk an ankle injury because you wanted to fight off that ankle lock,  Old guys know they have been beat and they tap,  Recovery time takes too long for an old guy to warrant fighting off the nasty joint lock submissions.

I am not saying that young guys should tap earlier  but I am saying that there is a reason we are old guys and can still train and compete.  It is because we use discretion when it comes to knowing when we are beat.   I think this is good counsel when it comes to extending your BJJ life,

I know it is sometimes hard for you young bucks to tap to an old guy a lower belt or a female but in the bigger picture just give them  credit for pulling off the move correctly tap and move on,  You will be better off for it in the long run,

For most of us it is a Hobby not a Job and sometimes we may weekend Warrior ourselves out of training,

What is the benefit of competing in Jiu Jitsu Tournaments.

First let me say that I think it a huge benefit to all to compete.  I have several  very good friends that just don't want to compete.  I understand the anxiety that comes with competing.  I also understand the ego bruise that can result if you don't fare well in your competition.  I also understand the pressure building up to the competition and how it may affect your personality and of course I understand the hated weight cutting that is also associated with competing so with all that going on with competitions you may ask why I think it is a benefit to compete so let me explain.

1.  When you compete it makes you a little more dedicated to BJJ.  It does not matter who dedicated you are if you are signed up for a competition you will be a little more motivated to make it to practice.

2.  It is a good opportunity to see where you stand in comparison with others in your division, weight class and belt rank.  If you think about it this is not like running etc where you have no chance to getting a medal because of some of the top notch people involved.  Sure they still have age groups in other sports but have you ever been to a swim competition where they only have you compete against people your same size?  Belt Rank is a little different because even though most other sports do not have belt rank they do have novice, beginner and expert divisions which can differentiate the athletes skill level.

3.  It is good to practice the discipline it takes to make weight and get ready for a tournament.  I had a tournament last weekend and because of some confusion  on my side ended up with no one in my weight class.  (It is a long story but I they sent me an email and I thought I had a match but didn't)  I still feel I benefited by the preparation it took to get ready for the tournament.  Just think about how hard you would study in school if you were never required to take a test.  I think everyone in the gym benefits when some of the people compete.

Not just to give a simple way to deal with the above issues of competing.
Anxiety can be dealt with by just becoming more familiar with the competitions.  I still get butterflies every time I compete but the more I compete the better I seem to be.

No one wants to be embarrassed in front of their family and peers.   I can tell you all the team mates I have that have competed have received the utmost respect from everyone at the gym.  Maybe a family member or friend might not understand the courage it takes to compete but that is okay.  They have to understand that there is only one winner in your division and sometimes the other guy is just better.  No big deal.  That is just life.  In fact as funny as it sounds losing actually helps in this instance because it lowers the expectations of your friends and family.

You can be a little edgy before a competition and add cutting weight into the mix and you can be a whole different personality.  Last week I h
ad one daughter turn 22 the week before I had a daughter turn 29 and that sandwiched Father's Day.  I had to limit myself on some of those dinners and desserts that I would usually partake of.  I could not just sit around and snack with the family.  I felt it made me irritable and not very fun to be around.   I have to say that all of that was caused by me.  I could have chosen to go at a weight I would not have to cut for and that would have made me much happier.

I think you should try to compete at least every 4 months.  That would be 3 times a year.  I think if you do you will see a noticeable difference in your progression.  The difference does not really come from the few minutes on the mats during the competition but the hours in the gym preparing for the competition.

BJJ has really increased my Social Circles.

I am not sure how the rest of you feel about this but I can tell you in the 2 1/2 years I have been doing BJJ my Social Circles have really increased.

It used to be I just new some people that I worked with or saw at Trade Shows or other work related functions,  People from Church and people from our swim team and parents of swimmers that my daughters have competed and continue to compete with but now that I am doing BJJ I have 100's of new friends that I did not even know existed and these guys really are true friends with what seems to be no hidden agendas.

The beauty of this is that we all need each other to improve.   You cannot be the guy that always wants to do the technique but never have the technique done on you.  We all benefit by the other guy being there.  I have trained on the East Coast, West Coast, Mid West, Rocky Mountains, and China and Hong Kong and it is the same at all places.  People welcoming me with open arms regardless of my age, experience, or other factors that may cause me to be stereotyped in other sports.  I find this as truly one of the best aspects of the BJJ Journey.  I have been around a while and played Golf and Tennis in the past when I traveled.  With Tennis you pretty much needed to show up to the Courts with a partner and if you got there without a partner it was only fun if you found someone who has a similar skill set to what you had.   If they are too good and you couldn't even return their serve then it is not fun for you or for them.  If you are a lot better then your opponent it is also boring for you and not fun for them.  Golf is a little different as long as you can keep the ball in play and not slow down your foursome you can show up as a Single and still be okay but there is still not the camaraderie that you see in BJJ and if you get someone you are playing with that is super intense then it can ruin the whole round for the whole group and we are talking ruining 4-5 hours not just a 5-8 minute roll if you get stuck with an idiot.

A good example is the other day I was working out at Brea Jujitsu

.  There was a new guy there.  He was from Sweden.  He had competed as an Adult Blue Belt at Worlds and was staying over to see Southern California.  Dan being the good guy he is offered to let him stay at his gym.  (He had several people stay at his gym leading up to Worlds and I was able to meet and roll with them and then he had a few stay afterwards and Simon was one of them.  He did not have a car and was living on the mats at the Gym.  After Saturday AM workout I was going to the Beach to drop off my daughter for a Swimming Birthday Party and asked him if he wanted a ride to the Beach.  He said sure I took him to the Beach.  I live very close to the gym so I asked him if he wanted to come over for Sunday Dinner if he was still around.  He said yes.  He came over and taught my wife some Swedish so she could talk to a Nephew she has in Stockholm and if was all good. He told us about his BJJ journey.  He had left Sweden a few months ago went to England to train at Roger Gracie's place in England and then wen to Brazil for 3 months to train.  He stopped by after worlds and that is where we met him.    Then he took off later that day either heading North to Santa Barbara or South to San Diego.  He knew Jujitsu and the people who practice it would take care of him while he was here.  I'm not sure I would ever just take off hoping BJJ would take care of me for 6-8 months but I do feel a certain camaraderie at BJJ that I don't feel at other places.

OSS!

JiuJitsu with a Mormon Missionary.

I am a member of the Mormon Church.  I have been for over 50 years.  Currently my job in the Church is to take care of the Missionaries that serve in our local unit.  I talk to them a few times a week and usually feed them when no one else in our Ward (name for a local unit) is available.

We see these guys come and go and they are all different.  Different sizes, shapes, personalities and background.  They always travel in two's.  The Missionaries are called Elders.   Currently the Elders serving our area are from Idaho and Indiana.  The Elder from Idaho is a big kid.  Probably goes about 240 and is about 6"5' has some wrestling experience and is a pretty good kid.  He has that personality that everybody loves.  He seems like an easy going laid back kind of guy and people are attracted to him.

So we have them over quite a bit and I have a room set up for working on my BJJ.  It has mats in it and I have showed it to the Missionaries and several members of my ward who have come over to work out with me.

So after dinner the big Missionary says he would like to see how he would do against a Jujitsu guy. He was pretty confident had about 80 lbs and 35 years on me and felt he could take me easily.  So after Dinner we take the stuff out of our pockets go  into the room and I tell him we should probably start from our knees because with him being a big guy we could have easily rolled through the mirror or wall if we started doing take-downs.  (We went in just regular street clothes.  I was wearing a hoodie sweat shirt and a pair of shorts and he took his tie off but was wearing a white shirt and slacks, in retrospect I wish I would have had a Gi big enough for him and we could have changed into Gi's. but I was thinking this was just going to be a demo of sorts).

So anyway we get on our knees and he asks me what our goal is.  I say it is to get the other guy to tap by choking him or putting him or some sort of joint lock etc.  I then said I will probably try to take your back so I can choke you and I started to move around his back to show him what I meant, when he grabbed me with a head and arm and threw me on the mat.  It was on.  He was very aggressive.  I was not ready to start so he caught me completely off guard.  (I was thinking that I was the old guy that should have been my trick)  He was on top of me with a scarf choke and I had his full weight on me.  I thought this was not my plan.  I slowly worked out of it bringing my leg around the back and getting back was able to get a reverse triangle choke on him but it took me about 2 minutes to get there but he was exhausted after that.  At that point he was totally worn out and as we continued I was able to get two armbars (I did not put a lot of pressure on them just enough to get the tap) and then finished him with a mount to Arm Triangle that I had in pretty tight.  At that point we were done.  I would guess about 10 minutes.

I asked him why he went so hard at first and he said he thought I was trying to get some position on him so he needed to react quickly.  We laughed and he gave me a hug and said he has a new respect for BJJ.  I told him to stop by and train if he had some free time.  My wife told me I was an idiot and his companion from Indiana said that he recorded  it on his phone to show the other members.

I learned a couple of things from this.

1.  Never think your opponent is going to go slow.  I remember once I was with Royler Gracie when I as a White Belt.  We took a picture and I put my arm up on his shoulder and he pushed it off.  He told me never let anyone get their arm that close to your neck or they might choke you.  I bet he has had some idiots at Photo Ops try to choke him before.  Always be ready.

2.  Jiu Jitsu really does work for a smaller older guy against a younger much more athletic guy who is much larger then you.  I am just glad it was not a real fight and punches were being thrown.  He could have pummeled me.

3.  I need to set some rules and pull out some Gi's before I just start sparring with people I don't really know  at my house.

I have an addiction and I am happy about it.

I have been doing BJJ for 28 months and I can say that it is a total addiction for me.

Look at the facts.

I am writing this blog right now instead of working on a Project.

I blew off a dinner meeting and extended my stay in Denver by 6 hours so I could train for two days.

I trained in Vegas early, and had my daughter drop off my other daughter at a swim  meet for Warm Ups.  ( I did make it to the swim meet in time to see my daughter swim)

I schedule most of my meetings, conference calls etc around my BJJ Schedule.  I know where I am going to be M, W, F from 11:00-1:00 and T, TH evening from 7:00 - 8;30 and Saturday AM from 11:00-1:00.

I even have worked my Vacation around being near a BJJ Academy and a training schedule.  I must be crazy.

Now for some meat with these Potatoes.

Training as often as a I do has some upside.  As I was driving back to So Cal from Vegas in lots of traffic on Memorial Day I counted how many Black Belts I have rolled with since I started 28 months ago.  I counted 26 different Black Belts I have rolled with at the different academies, my home academy, grapplethons, and Open Mats.  I can remember each one of the 26 and the different lessons they taught me.  (If there is more then 26 then the others must not have been very memorable).

I remember rolling with Young Guys like Gianni Grippo and just how smooth he was.  I rolled with some beasts like Xande who even though they could have just picked me up and thrown me across the gym were very technical with me.  I rolled with a lot of guys in their 30's and 40's some let me work on stuff and just defended, some opposed their will on me.  I have to say I was impressed with all of them and would not question the skills of any of them.  I knew in most cases when I was able to complete a sweep, pass or even submission it is because they let me get to far on a move before they started to counter.

The reason I bring this up is because I rolled with Don Charley last weekend,  Usually I am able to rationalize a roll by thinking that I am older, or lighter, then the guy I rolled with who just kicked my butt.  The problem with Don is that he was older then me (one year) and lighter then me (15 lbs) and was still light years better then me.  This was the first time that I actually felt that  I could become something more then just an old guy that was past his prime and was on the downhill side of life in realtion to my BJJ.  If I can develop a game like Don then I will be able to defend myself against those agressive Blue and Purple Belts in the Future and just wait until they wear down and then work my game on them.

I am so happy that I found BJJ.  It has really given me a new outlook on life and I have met so many friends while visiting and also at my local places.  Guys I would never have even thought about associating with before our now texting me coming over to the house and are truly valued friends.

Here is a picture of 3 of the places I trained last week.  That makes 14 work outs in 14 days.

2 years ago today I almost quit BJJ

Today is my Birthday.  I started BJJ  just over 2 years ago, in February of 2013.  Two years ago today I showed up for a Wednesday morning afternoon class and told them it was my Birthday.  I had told some of the guys before hand that my Birthday was coming up and they joked around that I should come to class that Birthdays were special.

I showed up for Class and everything was good.  People were telling me Happy Birthday and then it came time to roll.  The instructor asked me to get in the Middle of the Mat and said I would be rolling with everyone because it was my Birthday.  I had no idea what was going on.  I thought they were all going to let me submit them as a present to me or at worse it would be like regular sparring and I would just get a chance to spar with everyone.  As I had only been doing BJJ for a few months my stamina and cardio and general BJJ skills were not great and I was not relaxed at all during sparring. I was  very tense and using way to much energy.  The first guy to come at me was a Brown Belt who weighed 60 lbs more then me.  When they said go  he came at me Super hard I tried to match his intensity but he was throwing me around like a rag doll and even though I fought it I tapped maybe 4 times in a minute.  Then the next big upper belt came at me and just beat me up something terrible.  7-8 rolls later the White Belts were having there way with me.  Then I thought it was done and the Black Belts just smiled.  I laid their and could not move.  My heart was pounding out of my chest and I seriously thought I was close to having a heart attack.  I was totally exhausted and I was spent.  I could not believe what had just happened.  I was totally ambushed.  I had never seen this done to anyone else before so did not know what to expect.  All the guys were just laughing at me.  I was embarrassed and ashamed that I was put up for public humiliation in front of my peers to get beat up while everyone just sat and laughed at me, it was very difficult for me.

The real problem here was not  understanding what was going to happen or what to expect.  I was upset and maybe it was just me being too sensitive but as a new guy who had never seen this happen to anyone else before (or since) it caught me off guard.  When I left class that day I am pretty sure no one thought I would ever come back.

I missed going last year on my Birthday so did not get the beat down but I plan to head on on over to class in about an hour let them know it is my birthday and if they want to give me the beat down again I am okay with it because
1.  I know what to expect.
2.  I understand they are not trying to humiliate me in public and
3 I will not try to match their intensity but just play  defensive for the minute each of them has their shot at me.  I am sure I will take the beating much better this time but I also am sure I will still take a beating.

Wish me luck.  I must be a glutton for punishment.

I love going to new places to train

I travel a lot and I love to train in different places and one of the great things is I always make new friends there (and thanks to Facebook I am able to keep in  touch with them and here about their BJJ journey) and always have people welcoming me back when I return to that area.  I also get to learn different styles from different instructors and spar against people with different games and strengths so I learn to defend different styles.  Last but not least I get to use my moves that the guys at my place see all the time anticipate and counter but the people at other places may not be as familiar with those moves so I see how well they work in those circumstances.

Last week I was able to Train in Hong Kong.  The guys tipped me off before hand that the elevator was broken so I left early knowing I would have to walk up to the 11th floor.  At the 7th floor my calves started to feel the burn  but when I got the 11th floor and saw the guys already starting I was happy I made the trip.

(On a side not another place I train  in Hong Kong the first time I showed up there the Professor called me out had all the people circle up and then told me to show him what I knew.  I had only been doing BJJ for about 3 months at the time and was a zero stripe white belt.  I did have some wrestling back ground so I made the mistake of taking him down and then proceeded to get the bazooka beat out of me and finally succumbed to a choke.  Even with that I am still good friends with that Professor today).

 Here are some things that I think are  important to have a good experience when doing BJJ while traveling.

1.  Don't try to partner with those of smaller size, lower belt or old people that you can think you can dominate.  Not a problem when you are doing technique but once you roll if you beat up  your partner expect the next roll to be  with the Hammer and you playing the part of the Nail.

2.  Don't talk about what your home school does.

3.  Always offer to pay

4.  Be respectful and gracious.  Never compare what someone else does especially if you think someone else has a better way to do it.  No one wants to hear that.

5.  When travelling outside the USA know your weight in kilograms so you when asked you can answer in a way that does not make them have to do math to figure  out.

5.  Have fun, make friends, talk to people and show interest in what them.

If you do these  things you will surely have a great time at most BJJ Schools and not only make new friends but learn new tricks to improve your game.

Jiu Jitsu a great way to lose weight

My wife and kid are out of town so I trained at two different places yesterday.

The Place I trained in the AM had a visitor.  We had several things in common.  We both have 4 daughters, We both have trained for about 2 years.  We both lost a ton of weight when we started doing BJJ.  Of couse I was 30 years older then him but that did not seem to matter.

How did I know he lost the weight?  When we were sparring I asked him how much he weighed.  I ask this question often because 1. I like to have a feel for some of the moves I do and how they are working on people of different sizes 2. I like to know if people are bigger or smaller then the weight I compete at.   He told me he weighed about 155  but when he started BJJ he was at 305.  I was amazed.  He looked great and I could see no sign that he had dropped over 50% of his body weight.  When I started BJJ I weighed in at 220 and now I weigh about 160.  I thought that was a huge weight drop but that is nothing compared to this guy.  I wish I would have gotten a picture of us and also been able to question him about how he did it but I was off to my next roll and then he was out the door before I had a chance to ask him more questions.

It is funny when you have lost a lot of weight.  The first thing you get is that eye from people who wonder if you are sick or have some ailment causing you to lose the weight.  They have not seen you in a while and that last time they saw you, you were much bigger and they don't want to be rude so they don't ask.   Then once they find out your healthy the questions start to come.  Here are the answers to the most common asked questions.

Q: How did you lose so much weight?
A: I started doing BJJ.  I did not set out to lose weight it was just a byproduct of the workouts.

Q:  Did you change your diet or just workout.
A:  I often tell people I started having Motrin for Dinner instead of real food and that is the truth but I was not doing that to lose weight I was so sore after workout I could not eat and I needed something to reduce the inflammation in my joints so I was on the Motrin Train.

Q; How long did it take you to lose the weight?
A:  I got down to 175 in about 3 months and then held that for a year until I dropped another 15 lbs for competition purposes.  ( The guy that lost the 150 lbs told me he dropped all that weight in less then a year)

Q:  Did a doctor tell you to lose weight?  What was your motivation?
A:  Every Check up I went to the Doctor told me I was healthy and did not need to lose weight.  The reason I lost weight was because of my desire to compete.  I would spar with people and then ask them how much they weighed.  I knew I could hold my own with the under 175 crowd so I decided if I was going to be compete that is where I needed to be.  It was easy to cut weight when you had the motivation of competing against smaller athletes.  Every time I thought about picking up a Donut or taking a Second Helping I was able to remind myself that I wanted to compete in the lighter weight class and I was able to abstain.

Q:  Has it been hard to keep the weight off.
A:  No it has not been hard.  Now that I have been doing this for a couple of years my appetite has returned because my technique has improved and I am not getting beat up like I once did.  I am still burning the calories and I watch the scales daily so if me weight starts to creep back up I can cut back but I basically eat what I want and am able to maintain my weight.

This has been a crazy trip for me.  I never was overly concerned about my weight and 3 years ago I was happy and content.  Then I got the BJJ Bug and I look like a different person.  To be honest I had never even heard of BJJ before I attended that first class with my Son in Law.    Now I am a total addict (working out twice yesterday when my wife and daughter were out of town).  I think I am in this for the long run.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this journey.

Winning Pan Am's is like winning the lottery.

So I won Pan Am's.  I know that does not make me any better then I was two weeks ago.  In fact I won on a Referee Decision so if the Referee had a cramp in his left arm and lifted his right arm instead the other guy would have won.

I did not win in dominating fashion.  Just got by and got the win in my matches.  The surprising thing is how many people think this makes me a better Jiujitsu Player then I was two weeks ago.  I have a lot of friends on Facebook and a good number of them are involved in BJJ so I got a lot of pats on the back and congratulatory remarks after my win.  I had a couple of good Photo Ops with some well known JiuJitsu Stars like Xande Ribeiro.  So I didn't even say anything when I went to train and I got a lot of accolades when I showed up because it seemed everyone knew I had won.

I have sparred at my regular places since then and two other places while I was travelling. (so 4 different places)  It seemed like when I showed up I was now the new target to be beat on.  I remember how much harder people went with me when I became a Blue Belt and the same thing is happening now.  I am getting my butt kicked almost every single roll.  I am not sure I needed to be humbled but it is sure happening.  It seems a memo must have went out saying that this guy is a Pan Am Champion so beat on him.  I have not sparred with a White Belt since then.  I have sparred with young, athletic blue belts and higher belts.  These guys could have easily worked me over before but now that they are going harder they are really working me over.  I mean I am getting Bicep Sliced, Calf Sliced, Wrist Locked, Arm Barred in ways I never knew existed and Choked from places I never knew you could choke from.

I wonder how long it is going to take these guys to realize I am still the same old guy (emphasis on old) and that they could and can always work me over if they go hard.  I like to keep it playful and work on technique  so hopefully the guys rolling with me will get back in that mode so we both can progress.  Until then I will continue to take my lumps and I will remember the advice of a friend who won the lottery who told me "if you win the lottery don't tell anyone or they will start to change the way they act toward you" I now know if I win a big Tournament again it might be best to keep it to myself so I don't have to get beat down like I am right now.

Sits around all day, then sleeps at tournaments.

What a great experience.  I am always amazed at how the Jiujitsu and other martial art communities really accept each other.  I met a guy there who was in a wheelchair.  He was about 35 years old and was a disabled Vet.  He had no use of his legs but he was out their competing with able bodied competitors.  

An important part of BJJ is being able to hold your opponent with your legs.  If you have no use of your legs it eliminates this component for you.  That means that people will easily pass your guard and can easily choke you.  No off course he is used to this and because of his lack of legs strength he has far superior grip and also is a master of wrist locks if you are haphazard, taking it easy or overlooking this opponent you will be tapping to a wrist lock before you know it and the match will be over.  He got Choked out in one of his matches and I talked to him afterwards and asked him if he was okay.  He told me he was and that he never taps he would rather just pass out.  I thought the guy was probably pretty good at dealing with pain and if that is what he wanted then okay.  Then I saw he just posted this picture on his Instagram and I thought it was funny.  

BTW his name is Brian Freeman and he did get a 3rd place finish at Pans so major props to him.  It was an 8 man bracket  

Pan Ams are over and I have to say the cutting weight was worth it.  All those posts I wrote about cutting weight being silly and not worth it were wrong. (in my case anyway)  When you get to compete with guys who are a little bit smaller then you instead of a little bit bigger then you it makes a world of difference.  (I know this is not brain surgery but I really did not know how significant the weight factor was until I competed at the  lower weight).

My normal weight is in the low 170s and with Gi about 175-178.  I have always competed at Middle Weight as a white belt and did fairly well but every once in a while I went against a beast who no matter how hard I tried, my technique could not overcome their physical strength.  I was promoted to Blue Belt in December so I decided I should drop to light weight for Pans so I would not have to face guys both technically better and stronger then  me.  I made the weight drop and now I was the beast in the weight class.

I have to say it was very enjoyable and even after the matches I did not feel the same amount of strain on my body that I felt as a middle weight.

One funny thing happened my instructor did not have his credentials in order so could not get on the floor for my first match so his instructor Xande Ribeiro stepped in to Coach me.  Pretty good substitute if you ask me.  If the final I had Saulo, Xande, Fabrio, and my instructor (Sean) all on the mat side coaching me.  Plus I had Dan Lukeheart giving me some instruction also.  It was an anti Climatic Final going to referee decision but I wonder if having all those big names in my corner helped me when it came time for the decision to be made.

I met a ton of friend that I knew from Facebook and Instagram and I have to say the BJJ community is really one group of good guys that really seem to enjoy being around each other.

The journey continues.  I really like this Picture of Xande and I after my first match.

Pan Ams are this week good luck to all competitors

Okay I was driving into the office today and there is this one place  where I have to drive across a two lane road to get on the freeway.  There is a lot of traffic at this spot and sometimes the back up to cross can be several cars deep.  When an opening comes you make a dash and sometimes 2-3 cars can get through before the traffic starts up again.  There is a stop light about a half a mile up the road and that is what causes the space.  So as I was waiting my turn to dash I noticed that when a car was turning that the car coming the opposite direction would speed up.  

My question is what is the purpose of speeding up?  Do you want to T bone the car crossing the road? Why would you want to be in an accident?  What would happen if the car crossing the road stalls or it is an inexperienced driver and they panic when they see you speed up.  Why do people do this?

Any way just something that frustrates me.  I am ready for Pans this week.  Got a good look at the Bracket and am ready to compete.  What drives a 53 year old to compete and how long will it drive me is still a question I ask but I am ready for this week.  

My father said if you get beat will you quit?  I think the answer is it would hard to get beat and then quit.  I think it is easier to quit when you win and think you have accomplished what you set out to accomplish.  If you get beat then you know you have things to work on and  that just drives you harder to get better for the next time you compete.  

We have heard many people say you learn more in defeat then in victory and it is true in BJJ.  Sure it is more fun to win but you rarely go back and analyze you mistakes when you win.  You get the false sense that the move you did or the technique you tried will always work because it worked on that one guy in that one situation.  In reality until you get your set ups perfected most of the time you just end up getting lucky to get in a spot that you know what to do in.  If you lose it gives you something very concrete to work on.  Of course, learning aside I will still prefer to win.

What do you really want out of BJJ?

I have been thinking about this for a while.  If you have been readying my blog you will know that I am 53 years old.  I hurt almost everyday that I do BJJ but I continue on.  Sometimes I ask myself why.  (Every day my wife asks me why.)  I have been thinking a lot about it.  At first I just chocked it up to a mid life crisis.  Trying to regain my youth but that was two years ago.  I am far to dedicated to BJJ at this point to think it was only a phase I was going through to satisfy some mid like crisis.  There are far more things that are easier to do that could fulfill that urge.  I could buy a Harley or a Corvette and take it out on weekends to satisfy the mid life crisis problems that occur.

I may have started because my son in law was interested and told me he was going to get our grandkids into it and I wanted to understand what this BJJ was all about but it is something much deeper now.  I really enjoy it.  I enjoy the sense of team I feel when I show up at the gym and I am greeted by my fellow grapplers.  (most of them are half my age)  These are guys I don't have a lot in common with.  They would be peers of my kids.  Why do I enjoy being around them?  I think it comes down to genuine respect.  I know it sounds silly but having these guys respect means a lot to me.  wfor me.  Some have respect just because I am showing up.  They know how difficult it is.  Other have respect because of my skills on a sweep or some other technical aspect of the sport.  It is strange but I really crave this positive feedback.  I am embarrassed that I need this positive reinforcement.  I mean I am 53 years old and you would think that I would be past the age where I needed someone to pat me on the back but I still need it.

I can tell you at my age I don't know if I will ever get to be a black belt.  I mean I would probably be around 65 by the time I had enough skills to be considered a legit black belt.  Also the Belt Promotion is not really a motivator for me.  They come so infrequent that I think if that was my motivation I would already be done.  I know I am most likely 4 years away from a Purple Belt.  If my motivation was self defense I would have quit.  (maybe bought a gun).   I don't go to places there are fights.  I am at Church every Sunday and usually in bed by 10 at night.  Not a lot of fights starting in the places I frequent. I have already lost 60 lbs.  Going from 220 to 160. I think I could easily maintain without the wear and tear on my body that I put it through each workout.   I think the thing that will keep me going is the respect from my fellow Jiujiteros.  As childish as it seems a compliment here or there will keep me coming back.

What is your motivation?  What keeps you going?  I think it is different for every person and I think it may change along this journey we know as BJJ.

So I entered Pan Jiu-Jitsu as a light weight 53 year old Blue Belt.

2 years ago when I started BJJ I weighed 220 lbs,, Did not know one Jiu Jitsu move. I had never even heard of Pans and I still call it Pan Ams after a big swim meet Sponsored by USA Swimming.

I am now a Blue Belt under 170 lbs who has been taught 1000's of moves and remembers at least 20 of them.  I am cutting a little weight just to be safe but am excited about my opportunity to test the skills I have learned against others who have the same desires.

Win or lose I am looking forward to this experience.

I train at two different locations,  One close to my office and one near my home so I can get in as much mat time as possible.  My home and office are only about 5  miles apart.

So I stopped by my local grocery store today to pick up some stuff for my wife and I saw a Martial Arts place popped up.  So I walked over there to see what was going on and it was a Gracie Academy BJJ place.  This is seriously less then a 1/4 of mile from where I train near my house and I would guess that with in 5 miles of this place there are at least 8 other BJJ Places.

My question is.  Will BJJ reach the point of Saturation?  Is it the current flavor of the month?  I don't mind all these places. I think the competition is good for the sport and each place does have a little different concentration or "Vibe" as the instructors like to say.  It give us more choices but it also makes it harder for the guys who want to run them full time to make descent living because the enrollment is spread out.

So what do you think?  Is so many BJJ Academies good for the sport?