Hello Everyone
It's that time of the week and I'm ready to update everyone on how my life in Brazil is going.
Training this week has been MUCH better than the previous weeks. I'm not sure if I'm just coming into my own or knocking the dust off my unpracticed gi game. But whatever the reason, I'm doing much better.
I'm not only holding my own with the purples and browns but I've actually started surviving a little with the black belts. Mind you I am still losing to most black belts but I can definitely feel the difference of skill between some of the black belts. I even got my first sweep from guard on an experienced black belt that didnt want to be swept. It seems like a small thing, but its a large victory to me. I actually landed in mount and maintained it for what would have been long enough to get the points. I'm stoked.
Tonight I had a great night also. My first couple of opponents were blue belts and I didnt have any problems there. But once I got placed with a brown belt and I nailed a sweet sweep in the first 15 seconds and almost finished a nice kimura. Then I spent the rest of the match in half guard top trying to pass and not being able to. I usually hate hen people get dominate position and just play super super conservative. My goal for this next week is to open my guad more, attempt more dynamic passes and progress the grappling even when I'm in a dominate position. Its not like there is a medal on the line, nor am I being graded. Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better and thats how I invison this going.
In the no gi classes things have been going much better also. I got two submissions on a black belt today and then he returned the favor via inverted heel hook and kimura. The black belt was ultra cool about it and for the most part the guys that I roll with are not trying to rip my limbs off so when I train I'm not afraid to get my legs or arms ripped off. What I'm saying is, for the most part, it's a positive learning atmosphere.
One thing that I did this week was take some time off. The last 3 weeks I've really been pushing myself to hit two classes a week and that took a serious toll on my body. I was constantly sore and injuried to the point that while sleeping I would try to roll over and the pain would bring me awake. This resulted in my sleep sucking ass and not getting fully rested. I guess what I'm trying to say is, sometimes less is more...as crazy as tht sounds.
Let me point out that someone warned me that training 3 times a day without steroids was probably impossible. It was back on the first page or two of the thread and that gentleman can now enter the thread with a big "I told you so" and I would rightfully deserve it. When you come down here to train dont be afraid to just grab a friend (possibly anoher Gringo) and rep some moves out. Dennis (connectionrio.com) is awesome for this and his techical level is great and he provides wonderful feedback as well as being a cardio machine. These drills/extra reps are an awesome perk of using Dennis's service and I would take full advantage of it if you are here.
Earlier this week Vitor Belfort came and trained at the gym. Last time he came I didnt have my camera and I was super bummed out but this time Ryan had come to watch the class (another guy from the states) and he went to get his camera while we all trained. As most of you know Vitor is a beast, he's got great speed and strength as well as being a good black belt. Neither of us got paired into the first round of rolling so he asked me to do pummeling drills with him. I was eager to help out and the oppertunity to keep us both warmed up was a plus also. As we began the pummeling drills his hand slipped under my arm with ease but when I tried to pummel...well it was very difficult. His damn lats and tricepts are so damn big that I have to force my hand through which resulted in a very slow pumml. It's not like he was trying to stop me from pummeling, it's just he's ...well big LoL.
We both got paired into the next round (not against eachother) and I got tooled pretty hardcore by another blackbelt. After a couple of rounds I got a rest and while sitting a round out I asked Gordo if he minded me getting my picture with Vitor (I had already asked Vitor) while the rest of the class was rolling. Gordo didnt seem to mind (although I'm sure he got a good laugh at the Gringo getting his picture taken with Vitor) and we took the picture in front of Gordo's gym banner. Gordo realized that I was excited so he paired me with Vitor for the next round. We started off and he entered my guard (very nice of him considering I would say that is my strongest position). I feel I did pretty well challenging his base and throwning him off. But I never really put him in any danger and the first time he got out of my guard it was a seriously hard time. I tried to recompose and as you can see from the pictures I was unsuccessful. Vitors game is very fast and smooth yet with a great deal of accuracy. I'm not telling you anything that you dont already know...just stating the obvious. It was nice to test my game against someone famous though.
Aside from training I've descovered some VERY important things about Brazil that I think everyone will want to know in case you come down here.
The first thing I learned this week was how to work the shower. I know what you're thinking..."this guy has been in Brazil for a month and he's just now learning how to use the shower". Well guys I hate to break it to you, but it's not like home. The first time I got into the shower I was a little shocked to see that there is only one knob as opposed to the two back in the states. I was told that the way showers work in Brazil was different from at home in the fact that they dont really have hot water heaters. The water is heated at the head of the shower and often times is not as hot as people would like. What they NEGLECTED to tell me is you dont turn the knob on full blast. For those of you who dont know this simple fact you will be taking showers in frigid water. If you barely turn on the knob the water comes out between warm and HOT. With a little adjustment from the knob you and "almost" control the temperature of the water.
I was kinda annoyed by this fact becuase my showers the past month have been short and to the point. I get in, scrub everything as fast as I can and watch as my testicles disappear into my body from the shock of temperature change. Then I hop out of the shower as fast as I can. Becuase I was turning the water on full blast the water was extremely cold. It was nice after training but other than that it was something that I dreaded. Sometimes I would go train just so that I could take a shower without freezing myself.
I finally got my kimonos all cleaned to the point where I could take 3 of them to get patches put on. I was slightly annoyed that the cost of having the patches put on the Gi is the same price as having the patch made. As I got to the tailoring shop and removed my kimonos from the bag the womans face clearly told me she had many people come to her to get alterations and patches placed on their uniforms. Her store is directly nexted to the pride fightwear store. I have to give it to the woman, she really TRIED to keep a straight face as I pulled the patches from my backpack and placed them on the counter. She broke into a smile and started shaking her head. Evidently this is one of the more obsurd patches that she had ever seen.
This leads me to the ongoing battle with my patch. Evidently not many people in Brazil know what a Gerbil is and the first thing out of their mouth is "Rato" (which is prononced like "hato") and my immediate response is always "Nao Rato, Gerbil". Which leads to a lot of good laughes as we argue back and fourth. The tailoring lady finally settled on calling it a hamster but as she turned away she huffed "rato".
Even the guys at the gym have started talking about the patch (although they havent seen it yet) and Gordo, Rommel and Thaigo all got a good laugh as we warmed up. Again continuing with the "Rato" vs Gerbil argument. I'm sure they are going to lose their minds when they see this patch. I mean the patch is the real deal and I'm serious about putting it on every uniform I own. It may not be the best logo in the world but let's be honest...it's memorable and from a marketing standpoint any press is good press.
A lot of the better black belts have left for the states (including Gordo) and should be gone about 3 weeks to compete in the Mundials. This is a nice break in pace for me considering the classes are a little bit smaller and a lot of the guys that left are guys who beat me like a drum. So you know the saying...while the cats away the Gerbil will play!
I am also glad to report that my Portuguese is getting better and after only a month I've progressed from cave man Portuguese to 2 year old Portuguese. I still revert to pointing and saying things louder but I've added a few things to my bag of tricks to help communciate. The most recent thing being that I make more hand gestures. When I want the bill I ask for it AND make a little square with my hands and when asking for hot sauce I hold my hands apart about as far apart as the bottle is tall. This works quite well and I would suggest doing this from the start. I've even gone as far as to try and say things quickly. If I cant remember how to say the word I just make a rapid hand gesture, mumble the word and hope for the best. The results from this technique has been mixed but can also be a lot of fun. When using this method if they dont understand you emphasize the hand gesture as you mumble it quickly again. If you dont have a hand gesture for your word....well you're screwed.