Last week I had the pleasure of going down to Gracie Barra Cerritos and participating in the advanced class with Professor Alexandre "Dande" Santos. I know some people might think that training at another academy is pointless or even disrespectful to your own academy perhaps, but my mentality is that rolling with people other than my training partners can be beneficial. I'm currently the only female at my academy that trains in all of the classes. Besides Professor Romulo's wife and the few ladies that stream in and never stay, I have no one my size and strength to compare myself to. With the competition around the corner I figured I'd take my game and try it elsewhere and gain some or any confidence to bring onto the mat with me. I took my chances not knowing whether any girls were going to be in attendance and luckily there was a blue belt female present that was even smaller than me. After I was given a Gracie Barra gi to wear (at my academy it is not mandatory to have a GB gi) I bowed in and entered the class not even knowing the female was there until after the warm-up. I'm pretty sure she was just small enough to hide behind the pole. I was paired up with her and we worked on techniques. We learned the fireman takedown along with a counter if the person does have their grip on our collar. We worked on getting an armbar from the back and rolled. I went against the girl blue belt and 4 other blue belt guys. I can't tell you how happy I was that every guy I rolled with was either about my size and even if they were bigger, they had better technique than I. The overall feel was real nurturing and I felt that as a guest I was treated really well. As far as the teaching goes, attention to detail and support were paid attention to and when coaching Dande made me feel like everything I was doing was right, but he would add how I could do or make it better and the best way to advance my position. Definitely looking forward to going back. Thank you Dande and thank you training partners :).
Two days later I made my way down to Santa Ana to attend Professor Ulpiano Malachias' advanced class. I attempted to make it down for the fundamentals class at 5 but unfortunately leaving at 3 o clock was not the best idea and no, I would NOT beat the rush hour traffic. Cause of course rush hour traffic anywhere in or around Los Angeles starts around 2 and ends around 7 if you're lucky-- especially on the 5 freeway. After a rough 2 and a half hours of butt-numbing monotonous stop-and-go bumper-to-bumper sleep-inducing road congestion, I landed at my destination. I walked into the academy and heard "Legacy" as if I had just earned my first nickname. Jeff, Ulpiano's star purple belt greeted me behind the desk and after exchanging some words realized we had been on the same mat before at Legacy Pasadena for Braulio Estima's seminar. I think the best dude, besides the professor of course, was Mick, the suuhhhhhthern speaking, generous, outgoing, hard-working blue belt who became my partner for technique. We learned a throw, a choke from mount and its different variations. Luckily a girl walked in and became my rolling partner. Ulpiano had me work on passing her guard and although she was my size and stature that girl was strong. He coached me and had me work on pushing her leg down to the mat and getting my knee through while pressing my chest to hers-- a technique I was familiar with but needed some tuning up. After rolling a little I felt my big toe collapse under my weight. Being part monkey I use my toes like opposable thumbs and twist and turn on them and this time it stung. I've never had any type of serious injury so I sat while Ulpiano worked with Crystal investigating the damage. He asked me what was wrong, grabbed my toe to see if it was broken I'm assuming and told me it was no problem. All of Ulpiano's students are tough, even his girls. If you ever wanted to learn how to have the heart of a lion, go to this academy. Professor keeps it serious and doesn't allow whining or bitching. And that's something I do a lot. Later he taught me some nice guard passes, a sneaky submission from side control (which I've yet to use but will) and a triangle defense that I really need to work on before I can feel confident using. The students at GB Santa Ana are tough, persistent and serious about their training. I think I can take from the visit, a feeling of confidence not necessarily in my technique but in my drive and perseverance. If you want it bad enough, you'll get it with hard work. Obrigada Mick, Jeff, Crystal, Professor Ulpiano and the others I was able to hang and joke around with, see you again real soon.
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