The Guantlet

Last night we had promotions at one of the academies that I train at and they had those with Belt Promotions walk/run through the Gauntlet.

I love Jiujitsu.  I have been training almost 4 years and usually make 5-6 classes per week.  I choose BJJ over many activities that I should be doing.  I left my family at the Hotel once on a family vacation to Hong Kong to go to a Clark Gracie Seminar.  I have rescheduled business meetings so I would not have to miss class.  I always try to schedule my flights at times so I can train either before I leave or after I land.  I am a glutton for punishment.  I was at a hard core no gi place on Thanksgiving morning and got shredded by the locals where my parents live as it seems all the beasts are the guys who want to train on Thanksgiving in that part of the woods and instead of looking at me as an old guy who just wanted to get in some light rolling and work  on some techniques they viewed me as fresh (but old) meat to work on their guillotines and arm-bars.  I had no problem with that and when I go back up to visit my parents will most like train with the again.  I will be in Dallas for a week during Christmas visiting my daughter and her family and have already contacted the people there about training.  I am a training fanatic.  I love to train and compete.  I got BJJ in the Blood and on the Mind.

That being said,  for some reason the Gauntlet really bothers me.  I have been through the Gauntlet and while I will say I did feel the pain and had welts for days afterwards it is not the pain part of the Gauntlet that bothers me.  It is the frenzy the you see with people who really just want to be able to hit people as hard as they can with their belts.  I mean you can see how much they enjoy this.  I just can't bring myself to hit someone who is defenseless as hard as I can.  I can't rationalize it in my brain.

I am an older guy went to High School in the 70's and hazing was a real thing.  It really bothered me back then and after I went through the Freshman Hazing that I did I never felt like hazing other kids.  I just never saw the point.  For some it seemed like a right of passage of sorts.  They had been hazed (some were very brutal and not done with Spirit of  Sportsmanship or belonging to the group but done with malice) and because they were High School kids doing it they had no idea if or how bad they might hurt someone. High School kids have not been known to make the best decisions.   When I became an Upper Class men I would never attend the hazing ceremonies.  I am not a pacifist by any means.  I always enjoyed a good fight when the need arose and never backed down from a scuffle.  I hunted and killed many animals and felt no remorse.  I was raised in Wyoming where it was a way of life.  I was not a big kid growing up and always wrestled in the lower weight classes but I belonged and had friends who were bigger guys so I did not really get picked  on.  There was a boy from Church who was a little bit smaller then me.  He broke his arm playing Dodge Ball and he seemed to really get harassed at School by many of the bigger kids.  In the 70's Bullying was not seen the same was it is today.  It was almost accepted and was hard to avoid if you were a smaller kid or maybe had some feature that caused you to be different.  No one wanted to be different so people tried to avoid  being seen with those kids so they would not be seen as less then cool.  I think it is different now days.

I guess I just don't understand what the Gauntlet achieves.  You get a bunch of Grown men and a few ladies together and then publicly whip a few people because there BJJ skills merit them getting promoted to a new belt level  so you whip them?    I do think that people do not hit with malice but many are really trying to leave their mark (welt).  I understand traditions.  I think they are great.  I just don't understand why beating someone would be a tradition you would want to keep.

I know most schools have done away with the Gauntlet.  Not sure why the Gauntlet bothers me so much.  I know I am not expressing it well.  I mean the guys who got promoted rolled with everyone in the class for 2 minutes before the gauntlet that was more then an hour worth or rolls and I had absolutely no problem with that and rolled with them as well as an old man can but the gauntlet just seemed to be over the top to me.

Recap from Master's Worlds.

I know it has been a while since I posted.  I have been busy with work and training for Master Worlds.

The first thing I want to say is that Master Worlds is no joke.  Every year it gets more and more difficult to compete there.  Of course every year we get older and older but that is not what I mean.  I mean that every year the level of competition steps up to a higher level.  If you would have told me a week ago that I would get the same medal as Xande Riberio, Clark Gracie, Cicero Costha and place higher then Samuel Braga I would be sure it going to be a Gold Medal but I ended up with a Bronze just like some of those big names listed above.

I think Master Worlds will soon pass Regular Worlds as a Jiujitsu Draw.  The reason behind this is I think that this is an opportunity for many Professors to be able to compete at a Tournament with their Students and have a chance to show what they got despite their age.  There is no way that most of these guys could compete in an Adult Division.  I also really see the Camaraderie at this tournament that I don't see at any other tournament.  I think it is a combination of having  many athletes from each team combined with the Venue that allows the friends of the fans to really cheer for their teammates, family and friends.  I have to say to watch the big names it is much easier in a big venue like UCI or the Pyramid in Long Beach for everyone to see what is going on but the seats are so far from the mats that it is very difficult to get up close to watch your team mate fight.

Also the change to put the Black Belts Master 1 and 2 on Day 1 and    Black Belts Master 3-6 on Day 2 will make this tournament much more appealing to Black Belts who can get their matches out of the way and then party in Vegas or Coach their athletes or do what ever they want.  I think they will keep this format and it might not be what the Older Blue Belts want who used to be Day 1 but I don't think IBJJF really cares to much about what the Old Blue Belts Want.

I also see many of the older guys really stepping up their training to attend this tournament.  My Buddy is a Feather Weight Purple Belt Master 3 and had to win 5 matches to win his division.  That is crazy that a 40+ year old would need to win 5 matches to win.  I think for the most part after 3 matches the rest is just grit and cardio and a lot of the technique you have prepared goes  out the window.  Of course maybe if my technique was better I would not think this way.  I saw some Master 5 guys with 8  packs and almost all the guys I saw were in shape.  I did not see a lot of guys that just seemed to be there for the party.  They all seemed ready to compete.  Just to show how competitive Masters 5 was the guy who won Master 5 light weight last year did not even medal this year and he dominated the division last year.

Jiu Jitsu is growing.  It is growing among the kids (my grandson is 4 and got his 2nd stripe on his white belt Tuesday) and it is growing among the older people to.  People are finding it a way to be active and keep fit while enjoying the great socializing that seems to cross all boundaries or age, race etc.  I met a guy from Arkansas who was a 69 year old Blue Belt competing in Masters 6.  I met at least 10 people over 60 years old.  I met people from Norway, Venezuela, Japan, Singapore, Sweden, etc that where there competing.  I have to say this tournament is only going to get bigger and more competitive.  This is really what Jiujitsu is all about.

Post World Championship Report

I know it has been a couple of weeks since Worlds were finished but I have some stuff I have been thinking about since before then and  I am just finding time to get around to putting it to my blog.

First as a disclaimer I have only been doing Jiujitsu for about 3 1/2 years.  I have been involved in athletics since I was young and have been around swimming the last 20 years supporting my Children and before that I competed in other sports.  What I want to say may seem to go in the face of many of the Top BJJ Schools and Pre Competition Philosophy.

Why do BJJ schools up the intensity of practices on the days leading up to Worlds and I see that many of the Top Schools have Hell Week leading up to the Big Tournaments.  I do not understand this concept of working really hard leading up to a big competition.  It seems to me that it only increases the chance for injury or fatigue before a major competition.

You are not getting better cardio in the few days leading up to the competition, you most likely will not be learning a new move that you can perfect to pull off against a tough opponent and it seems like to me there is only downside to working really hard right before you compete.  Maintaining weight and/or cutting weight and you need to break a sweat that I understand.  Dan at Brea Jiujitsu had a group of competitors there and he turned up the heat piped in competition sounds during the rolls and generally encouraged all to roll hard.

It seems like to me that if they went in with the Taper Mind set like they use in swimming, cycling, and even football and wrestling where they just do walk through type of training leading up to the competition to keep you fresh and reduce the chance of injury your chances of performing at a high level would be increased.  I think too many people in Jiujitsu over train before a big tournament and it causes them to not be able to give their optimum effort.  

Here is a little bit about what Dan is doing at Brea Jiujitsu.

Dan  has invited many people through Reddit and other Social Media places to come stay at his academy as a staging area before major competitions.  There were a dozen or so before Pans and then a lot of people before Worlds.  This has been a huge success and he had almost 25 people there one night and over 40 people on the mats training.   I train at Brea a few nights a week as it is very near my home I still train at the place I started but because of my schedule I cannot get there many days so Dan allows me to train at Brea even though I represent another school at Tournaments.  Dan is just a great guy who loves BJJ .  So it was packed over there the few days leading up to Worlds.  They had many top notch competitors there many from the Cicero Costha Group.  It is amazing to watch them train.  Even after they left I can tell that the intensity of the rolls has remained and these competitors have opened many eyes of those that sparred with them just what Jiujitsu is capable of.  I was able to take a few of them out to eat have them come over to the house for dinner  and take them back and forth from the Airport so I was able to spend some time with them. .  (I picked up the Miyao Brothers at the Airport Thursday night and then was at  Joao's Seminar the next Monday).  All these guys really train at a different level.  They told me when we were at dinner they train 3 times a day for about 2 1/2 hours and train 6-7 days a week.  I follow these guys on Instagram and they seem to be at a Tournament almost every week.  They are young guys who are following a dream and very appreciative of any help they can get.  Just watching them train motivates me and others who saw them to train harder.   I can't help to think that out of the 4-5 Purple and Blue Belt competiors that I was able to roll with and then take out to eat that one day they will be the next Miyao or Mendez. (they train with Miyao so they know where they need to be.    It was just a great opportunity for me and hopefully for the many others they came in contact with during their stay in the USA to meet these BJJ competitors.

What is important to us.

I was thinking the other day of what is important to me.

I thought of my Family, Church, Friends, Work, Jiu Jitsu etc.

I read an article that was written somewhere that asked the question to one of the top BJJ guys how much they would accept in compensation to go back and have not started BJJ at all.  The answer was no amount because of what I have learned and the friends I have made.  It had nothing to do with the Medals he had earned or the other tangible things.  It was all about the knowledge he had gained and the relationships that he had made.

I was thinking if this was a good way to judge how important something is to you.  If we can put a price on it then maybe it is not that important to us.

For example if I could ask for all the money I have spent on Candy Bars or Ice Cream or some other vices to be put back in my bank account and  not have any memories from those things or benefits that they gave me removed I would take the money in a heart beat.  I think of many things I have spent money on that I would exchange my experience with those things for monetary reimbursement.  Some times we spend the money and really get no long term benefit out of it and the short term benefit does not create any lasting memories.  (Think Captain Crunch Cereal).

The things on that list must not have been that important to me.  This includes Cars, Motorcycles, Fitness Equipment, Clothing and many other things.

So what  are some of the things I would not take the money back for but would rather keep the knowledge I have learned from those things.

Learning to Speak Chinese is very valuable to me.  This is something that I spent many hours and much time working on and I would not take money in exchange for not being able to speak Chinese.

Doing Jiujitsu is also high on the list. I have worked hard to gain the knowledge I have gained and I lost 60 lbs from the workouts and have met people who I would never have come in contact with if not for BJJ.   If someone offered me a large amount of money and told me that everything I have learned in BJJ and all the people I have met in BJJ would be
foreign to me and I would be 60 lbs heavier I would not make that trade.

Family Vacations are experiences I have had that I would want to keep even though some of the cost of them were very high.  My Church experience.  The knowledge and things I have learned at Church and the friends I have made are very valuable to me and would be things that I would not just give up.  Being able to raise my Children in the Church has no price tag on it.

I think this is an interesting thing to think about and a good way of self evaluation on what we find important to us.

What things in your life would you not exchange to  get paid back and what things would you exchange.  I have a bunch of extra inventory on those hoverboards that not only would I exchange but I would be willing to get rid of at less then what I paid because they have a very low value to me.

In our lives we have deals like that.  Things we have done (bad deals or extra inventory) that we would be better off just taking the money back.  Then we have other things we have done that we would not exchange that experience for any amount of money.

They have that one commercial for Rosetta Stone that says "wouldn't you rather learn a language then have another pair of shoes?"  My 14 year old who is usually in the car with me says she would rather have the shoes.  When I was 14 maybe I would rather have the shoes.  This is an interesting commercial to me.  I think it is easy to take the shoes but maybe we should be filling our lives with worthwhile endeavors things that are more valuable in the long run then a "New Pair of Shoes"

Jiu Jitsu with Friends

This might not be consistent with some of the things are wrote in the past on my blog but I had to write this because of the truly great time I had in Chicago with my JiuJitsu Team.

Let me tell you in the past mostly what I could see was the differences between me and my team mates.  I am old enough to be the father of many of them.  I have lived over 50 years and am on the back side of my life and career  and they are looking forward to what they can become  and have the future in front of them.  Some of them may seem a little more rough then me and run with a rougher crowd.  I don't drink, smoke, and have no tattoos and don't plan on getting any.  Outside of Jiujitsu we don't have a lot in common.

The guys at the Gym do accept me though they treat me like a brother and call me brother but sometimes I wonder if they should be calling me dad. Often I feel I am the Square Peg in the Round Hole around the gym.   They treat me well and we spar hard and shake hands and embrace afterward.  After practice they hang around maybe go out and get something to eat or drink and I head home to soak myself in the hot tub.  I am taking some Motrin to heal myself while they are out enjoying themselves.

So in December when they said lets do a travel trip, lets go to Chicago and compete I told them I was in thinking I would take my wife and family and we would have a nice trip and just do our own thing and let them do their own thing.

Then when about 10 people bailed on the trip and it was going to be a small group and my wife did not want to spend the extra money the airfare  and everything else would cost to get her and the rest of the family to Chicago to watch the competition I was now on my own with my teammates.

I was not sure what was going to happen.  We decided to share a Hotel Room because it would save some money.  I was up for that.  I have been married 31 years and have no problem sleeping in the same bed with someone.  I also travel a lot so I have some perks when travelling that some of the young bucks don't have like Free Breakfast, Free Internet, Free Snacks, Access to the Club at the Hotel and the Airport etc.  I showed up early got the room and then picked them up at the airport.  We had a great time.  It was like back when I was a youngster.  We bought a Rotisserie Chicken and some fruit and vegtables the night before the competition because we wanted to make sure we made weight.  We stayed at the Hilton and I got some extra breakfast coupons, so for those that could eat we had a great breakfast the day of the Competition and an even better one the day after when we could all eat.  As some were doing the open weight and we were all in one rental car so no one cold leave everyone who made the Podium that day decided to compete in the absolute.  We would be hanging around waiting for everyone any way and could not leave until the last competitor was finished.  Then after the competition we all went back to the hotel showered and went out for Chicago Style Pizza.  We had so much fun.  It was easy for the old guy to stay out late because being from CA the two hour time difference really helped, plus being amped up from the Competition.

I have to say this was the most fun I have had at a Jiujitsu Tournament.  The guys I was with agreed.  It snowed on the first day and it was one guys first time to actually see it snow.  Then the weather was great the day after the tournament.  We all got back and now these guys are super excited about doing more travel trips.  I am too.  If I can say anything to people reading this blog is if you get a chance to take a trip with your team do it.  It is great fun and will build relationships and give you memories and stories that will last a lifetime.

To each his own journey. What if you don't want to compete?

I had a friend who posted on Facebook about to each his own Journey.  I thought many of his suggestions were spot on.  I thought I would share some of them here and add a few of mine.  As I am going from memory and not pasting what he wrote so will be using some liberties with what I write.

First of all let me say that we are older guys and we train BJJ.  We train it because we want to.  We train it because we enjoy it.  We train it because it takes us away from some of our outside issues and we get a chance to get away if even for just a short time.  We also enjoy the camaraderie we have with our younger BJJ enthusiasts.  

There are other influences that make it not as fun.  Outside pressure to compete or to compare ourselves with others.  Pressure to get a BeltPromotion or to be compared to someone who started later then us or so many other things.  These are things that can consume us bring extra stress and anxiety to what normally would be a serene peaceful endeavor and makes us not enjoy it like we normally would.  

Why do we do these things?  Why is it so important to keep up with the Jones?  I know a Black Belt.  He is one of the best BJJ players I know.  He is big (210) strong could do cross fit with the best and also so flexible you would think he was a Gymnast.  He is in his 30's and I have seen him destroy people who compete regularly and win.  I asked him won day why he does not compete at all.  He said he used to but the anxiety it caused was just too much.  He would have to drink the night before he competed to calm down and the things he was doing were not good for his body.  Same thing for a over 50 year old Purple Belt I know.  He has all the assets to be a World Champion but he does not want to compete.  He said that when he competes he becomes a different person.  His Girl Friend would basically have to move out of the house for the month before the competition because he was just that hard to live with.  It was not worth it to him.  He just preferred to work out and spar with the guys and continue to improve his game like that.  

I used to think that you had to compete to improve but I am starting to see that we all have a different BJJ Journey.  It is a hard journey and we have chosen a hard sport to master.  No need by making it more difficult by bringing in things we cannot control and things that cause it to be no fun into the mix.  

Who really thinks people leave their ego at the Door?

When I first started BJJ I heard this all the time.  "Leave the Ego at the Door" or how humbling this sport was.  I agree that the BJJ is humbling but I think the "Leave the Ego at the Door" concept only applies to those lower belts, lighter or older guys and most women and juveniles. .

I think the leave the Ego does not work for higher belts who are heavier and more athletic then their opponents.  As an Older BJJ Blue Belt  I find that when I spar with lower belts, guys lighter then me, or women we have good rolls no matter what happens.  They can catch me in a position and I tap or I can catch them in a position and they tap.  When I spar with Higher Belts or Heavier guys they seem to have a real problem tapping if I get a submission hold on them.

Of course this is not true in all cases but in many cases it seems to be true.  I can be rolling with a 35 year old Blue Belt that weighs about 10 lbs more then me and we are rolling at a good pace and the flow is good.  Then I just happen to catch them in a Submission and for the rest of the round they are going crazy trying to get even.  They change the intensity of their roll and start going much harder.  I get it.  I understand what is going on.  The Ego has been bruised as they have been tapped by an old man.  They then need to get a Sub on me before the end of the round to save their pride.

Once while Sparring with a  Big Purple Belt who had about 50 lbs on me and was 25 years younger (I'm 55 160 lbs)  I caught him in a Triangle.  He went crazy to get out but it was just really tight.  He lifted me and slammed me on the mat.  I let go and asked him if he was okay.  He came at me with fire in his eye and like a Grizzly Bear picked me up and threw me across the mat.   I looked up just to see him coming at me.  I told him stop.  Calm down.  I can't spar with you when you are this angry.  I'm going to get hurt.  After about 30 seconds we bumped hands and continued the roll.

I have talked to many Women who feel the same way.  That many guys would rather pass out then Tap to a Women.  Now the new White Belts have no problem tapping.  They have been humbled and have been tapped by the Women and Old guys at the Gym so they really have no Ego.  The Problem is the guys who think that they should never tap to a lower belt, a woman or anyone that is smaller then them and over 50.  I do BJJ a lot when I travel and this is not just the case at one Gym.  This happen at places all over.

Okay tell me why I am wrong.  I do know of higher belts who will actually just tap when you get them in a good position and move on but most  won't and are not really leaving their Ego's at the Door.