(Post 2/2)
As we watched the sun set we noticed a lot of people setting up stands by the beach. Much to our surprise we had decided to rest in the very place that the market was going to set up, it was dumb luck. After finishing our coconuts and other refreshments we took our time to go through the different vendors and we purchased some great souvenirs. I ended up buying four paintings for R$10 each. These were hand painted, on canvas, with the artist sitting right behind them. It absolutely blew my mind that he was selling these for R$10, now I have them hanging in my room to add a little life to the walls.
Speaking of art, many of my friends know that I have strong feelings about “tagging” and graffiti. I cant stand it, it drives me crazy, and I cant stand seeing beautiful buildings, national monuments and even mountains defaced by a ugly black smear. I've even gone as far as to speak out against graffiti and applaud harsh penalties for those who do it. I even took some flak from my friends when I celebrated a 17 year prison sentence for a 19 year old who got convicted of over 100 counts of graffiti...it made me smile.
With that being said, I make a distinction between when someone is trying to improve the appearance of a wall or building and when someone is trying to deface it. For the cases when people put hours in to spray paint a portrait, a mural or another piece of art, I'm absolutely blown away. There are a lot of examples of both tagging and art here in Rio. Some of the art is breath taking and skillful. I wish I had more pictures of this type of art, but sadly I mostly see it on the bus when speeding through rough areas. I was lucky enough to get a photo of one piece that I think depicts the difference between art and vandalism.
I wish I had some training to talk about but due to the fact that I spent the last two week with my fiancee, I am at a loss. I will be training twice tomorrow and I will try to continue that pace throughout the week. My body is feeling better than it ever has and I cant remember the last time that I didn’t have any pain at all. I can literally get out of bed without having something hurt, ache or sting...it's kind of a nice feeling.
Just because I didn’t train doesn’t mean that I can not post the move for the week. That is one of the benefits of prerecording hundreds of techniques, even when I don’t have a chance to train I can still provide quality instruction.
This weeks technique continues to build off of the Leg Weave series and works well with last weeks knee over bicep control. I suggest repping this out because speed can be a factor as much as the hip movement and arm control. Next week will continue with the last of the techniques off of this series.
Although I did not have a chance to train, I did get to witness some great grappling moments after a night of the girls drinking. The girls were listening to some music next to the pool when Jack thought it would be funny to push Beth into the water. After the splash Jack went back into the house and disappeared for a few minutes fearing Beth's retaliation.
When Beth got out of the pool she jumped on Megan's back like a little spider monkey as she tried to coax her back to the pool. Evidently in her inebriated state Beth thought that Megan was the one who had pushed her into the pool. As the grappled around in the grass next to the pool I snapped a picture of Megan escaping back control.
As you can see, Megan is a natural. With zero grappling training she knew to clear one of the hooks and start to get her back to the ground! If I had half the natural instinct that she has I would have been a black belt a long time ago. I think for Christmas I'll buy her a kimono, it will be one of those gifts that just as much for me as it is for her.
That brings this weeks blog to a close. I have more content to share but in the attempt to keep this blog at a readable length you will have to wait until next week.
Thanks for reading
The Gerbil.
