Two weeks ago I was sitting at home on a Sunday being lazy and trying to get a photoshoot together when I got a text from my teammate asking me if I wanted to go to Arizona and train at Megaton's since that is his academy when he goes back home on the weekends. I didn't put much thought into it before I decided to watch some more 16 and Pregnant, eat more cookies, finally take a shower, pack my things and get a rise to meet him.
The following morning I met up with Mackenzie Dern to have a private. I can speak volumes of this girl and not that she needs the vouching, but she knows her stuff. We rolled and took turns passing guard and she stopped me whenever she saw an obvious flaw in my game. I learned a nifty grip break, an armbar from 50/50, a simple x guard sweep, two singles, an awesome secret throw, a new way to pass guard and lots of little details. I was actually afraid I wasn't going to remember it all! It was a great experience and I think the best part was when she had me do a technical stand-up and she went "its not surfing!!" Considering who her dad is, that's a very very watered down version of what he would say.
That night I took the beginner's class and ended up making a total buffoon of myself. The warm up at that academy is way different than anything I'd ever done, not to mention tough. I felt like it was my first time on the mat at some army boot camp! I got beat with a stick and my blonde hair came into play with a dummy joke from Megaton-- hey, not the first time. By the time open mat came around I barely had enough energy to roll. A real good juvenile blue belt Isaac kicked my ass and handed it to me. He wins adult divisions and trains hard so I GUESS the ass whooping was understandable.... All around a good trip.
Recently since I'm in between jobs I've been coming (I say coming instead of going because I'm currently sitting in Irvine) to the OC to train at Gracie Barra Headquarters and Ralph Gracie Anaheim. I've trained in the instructor's class twice now in Irvine and I'm surprised I survived. 6-8 black belts on the mat, it's a blessing. Anaheim being my second home continues to provide great training for me and as always a really fun and great group to be around. (Awwwww)
My first zine has been doing okay. I recently sent out some copies to Denver, Missouri, Boston, England, Canada, Brazil and Canada. If you would like to help and distribute to your academy, please email your address! It's free! PullingGuardZine@gmail.com And feedback is always great!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
wee-ooo weeeee-oooo
I'm currently sitting, okay laying, in the back of an ambulance. Sounds bad but I'm just working my 12 hours of ride along experience for my EMT program. Lots of downtime. With that downtime I've decided that I really want to go to Portugal for the European Championships. I have no idea how ill get the money but ill figure it out. My arm is healing well. I've been training for about a week now. I actually just ran into the ER doctor who I did my clinical hours under and went to after I hurt my arm. He trains, too so that's awesome. I'll also be taking pictures with my teammate and friend soon. He's my first sponsor and been an asset to my success since I started training. MikMilman.com
Here is some of his work from No Gi Worlds: My teammate Edwin Najmi who placed 2nd in the Adult Feather Blue Belt Division. Next person to interview/write an article about.
Here is some of his work from No Gi Worlds: My teammate Edwin Najmi who placed 2nd in the Adult Feather Blue Belt Division. Next person to interview/write an article about.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Trial and Error..and error...
I've wanted to start my zine for a couple months now. Just to let you understand the importance of my finishing this, I am a starter and rarely a finisher. I am constantly driven by ideas that are usually found to be crazy and when I start them, I need to start them RIGHT THEN AND THERE. The night I figured out that I wanted to write and distribute a zine I was badgering multiple friends to help me think of a name. When they told me, "we'll figure it out" or "I dunno," I pretty much dismissed them out of my project altogether. It's not exactly the best trait to be so impatient but since I'm learning to be positive, I'll say that it's actually a great trait to be driven, a self-starter and so stoked on projects I'm passionate about.
Today I officially printed 100 copies of Pulling Guard Zine Issue 1 after many set backs small and large. I knew I had to make it something great for people to read and I also knew what I wanted people to know. Romulo being such a great influence on me and others, I could gain readers as well as share the guy I love so much. I initiated my friend Chantel into the process which kick started my drive again. I got the interview done with Romulo on Wednesday, transcribed the video that night while Chantel edited it amazingly for me. Thursday I chose which questions I wanted to put in the final draft, (only used about 30%), put the final touches on everything but the back page on Friday and today I finished it, got the okay from Professor to publish and drove straight to kinkos. Now, having to make half-pages in order is not an easy feat. There are easy ways to do so like numbering them but of course I decided to just switch things around in Word and print it out only to find that I didn't do it right 4 times in a row. By the time that I figured out the order, I realized that in order to be able to fold some double-sided papers in half to create a booklet, I would need to have no less than 2 full papers. 6 pages in the booklet would mean trying to put in a half page and that just would not work. Math IS relevant outside of grade school! Figuring out fonts that were readable (thanks Mom, you were a great editor for that) was difficult because I wanted to use the handwritten fonts I had downloaded. Zines are meant to be drawn, hand-written and cut-and-paste then xeroxed. I put my standards a bit higher by creating it on the computer legibly but still attempted to make it D-I-Y looking at the same time. You'll have to let me know if I succeeded.
When it came to copies I had no idea what it was going to cost me and knew my budget (quite small). I ended up having the guy who worked there put the initial booklet copy for me then I grabbed all different colored paper and went to town. An hour later, copies were done! I had to have a certain stapler that wasn't available to me at home so I checked staples, office depot and office max only to find $30 staplers. No thanks. The copy center at office depot allowed me to use theirs at no cost. My mom helped me staple and fold. Staples were ripping the paper then after almost half, we realized they weren't being stapled in the right place. Do over. Then about 3/4 the way through I said "Why is Benny on the page next to the page with Romulo?....OH MY GOD it's in the wrong order." Do over. An hour later we were done! It may have some holes in the fold, some of them refuse to be stapled and you should watch out for the stray staples that were inaccurately placed. BUT it's done and No-Gi Worlds is tomorrow where I can distribute it.
I've been asked why I am doing this and what I expect to get out of it. I love when people read what I write. It took me awhile to realize that my writing is worth..writing and that it really is what I love doing. Like people listening to a song I wrote, seeing my colored papers scattered throughout the Long Beach Pyramid in the hands of fellow BJJ enthusiasts is what will make this trial and many error process all worth it. I have put more money than I can currently afford into this project and not once have I regretted it so far. Just the fact that I actually finished it is a real fulfilling feeling. So on that note, if you'd like a copy in order to read about my great friend Benny and Professor Romulo Barral feel free to request a copy! It will be so appreciated.
Today I officially printed 100 copies of Pulling Guard Zine Issue 1 after many set backs small and large. I knew I had to make it something great for people to read and I also knew what I wanted people to know. Romulo being such a great influence on me and others, I could gain readers as well as share the guy I love so much. I initiated my friend Chantel into the process which kick started my drive again. I got the interview done with Romulo on Wednesday, transcribed the video that night while Chantel edited it amazingly for me. Thursday I chose which questions I wanted to put in the final draft, (only used about 30%), put the final touches on everything but the back page on Friday and today I finished it, got the okay from Professor to publish and drove straight to kinkos. Now, having to make half-pages in order is not an easy feat. There are easy ways to do so like numbering them but of course I decided to just switch things around in Word and print it out only to find that I didn't do it right 4 times in a row. By the time that I figured out the order, I realized that in order to be able to fold some double-sided papers in half to create a booklet, I would need to have no less than 2 full papers. 6 pages in the booklet would mean trying to put in a half page and that just would not work. Math IS relevant outside of grade school! Figuring out fonts that were readable (thanks Mom, you were a great editor for that) was difficult because I wanted to use the handwritten fonts I had downloaded. Zines are meant to be drawn, hand-written and cut-and-paste then xeroxed. I put my standards a bit higher by creating it on the computer legibly but still attempted to make it D-I-Y looking at the same time. You'll have to let me know if I succeeded.
When it came to copies I had no idea what it was going to cost me and knew my budget (quite small). I ended up having the guy who worked there put the initial booklet copy for me then I grabbed all different colored paper and went to town. An hour later, copies were done! I had to have a certain stapler that wasn't available to me at home so I checked staples, office depot and office max only to find $30 staplers. No thanks. The copy center at office depot allowed me to use theirs at no cost. My mom helped me staple and fold. Staples were ripping the paper then after almost half, we realized they weren't being stapled in the right place. Do over. Then about 3/4 the way through I said "Why is Benny on the page next to the page with Romulo?....OH MY GOD it's in the wrong order." Do over. An hour later we were done! It may have some holes in the fold, some of them refuse to be stapled and you should watch out for the stray staples that were inaccurately placed. BUT it's done and No-Gi Worlds is tomorrow where I can distribute it.
I've been asked why I am doing this and what I expect to get out of it. I love when people read what I write. It took me awhile to realize that my writing is worth..writing and that it really is what I love doing. Like people listening to a song I wrote, seeing my colored papers scattered throughout the Long Beach Pyramid in the hands of fellow BJJ enthusiasts is what will make this trial and many error process all worth it. I have put more money than I can currently afford into this project and not once have I regretted it so far. Just the fact that I actually finished it is a real fulfilling feeling. So on that note, if you'd like a copy in order to read about my great friend Benny and Professor Romulo Barral feel free to request a copy! It will be so appreciated.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
"Just chop it off..."
I figure it's important to note this current, unfortunate, common, expected and somewhat essential step in my journey-- my first injury. How I deal will determine my character and test my love for this sport.
Anyone I've ever trained with will tell you that I am made of rubber. "Armbar? Pffft forget it." Yeah I'm flexible and its been somewhat of a blessing but also a curse and I will explain why in this very long post of storytelling. I signed up for the Los Angeles International Open hoping to get at least two matches. I looked at the competitor list to find two other girls in my division and read "Jennifer Liou." Part of me went "fuck" and the other part of me rubbed my hands together while sporting a menacing grin. Rematch.
Flashback to my first tournament ever, the California Classic last November. My first match went well with an armbar from mount. That had me feeling awesome. My second match was Jenny. She stood out from the other girls competing not only because she wasn't wearing any make-up but also because she was entirely silent and had this look like either she was planning a murder or her participation that day was forced upon her. Or both. I wasn't exactly scared of her but you could tell she was already a very serious competitor. I went onto the mat and once the match started we were fighting for grips. I remembered a move that Romulo's friend visiting from Brazil, Jarrao had just taught me which involved passing my elbow over her extended arm that was gripping my lapel and shooting in for a single. It worked but after surviving her guillotine attempt, I somehow ended up with her on my back. She ended up choking me with my lapel but not before giving me gi burns on the bridge of my nose and hands and shoving her hand in my mouth while I attempted to avoid biting it. The girl was a beast and I compared her to a vengeful daughter out for my blood because I killed her Momma. Surely my first taste of a real competitor among many other firsts that day. I later watched her demolish her opponent in a nogi match with a triangle in less than a minute. Throughout the past year I had entered the same competitions as her but due to her being a featherweight, we never got matched up again.
So now back to this past Sunday, the LA Open, put on by the NABJJF, had only three weight classes for women and I was in the 140 and under division which would put Jenny in my bracket. NBD, (no big deal) I would TCB (take care of business.) I had a by and Jenny won the other girl at the last minute, literally. That girl went off and disappeared. She was eventually DQd and since I wouldn't be fighting the loser first, I'd be going in to fight for first. I had been getting my nerves down by joking around and making Jenny laugh. I was at ease, this would just be a fun match and no pressure. But this was also my rematch. I was mentally prepared considering I knew or at least knew that at white belt level, fighting Jenny is like fending off a rabid dog attack. I would soon find out that nothing had changed.
Normally I start my matches with a swift guard pull before my opponent can even remember what their game plan was but this time I waited and circled a bit. I thought, "fuck it," and swooped in. She immediately angled herself for a pass to my left so I planted my right foot on her torso and rolled her over for a sweep. Two points up. From then on she was attack attack attack and I unfortunately was left in defense mode. She got me in a guillotine while I was passing and my lovely teammate yelled for me to watch out for what I had already gotten into. Ha, good lookin' out! I popped my head out and from then on it was me trying to pin her legs together and pass and her going for triangles, omoplatas, guillotines and armbars. I sloppily (new word?) defended all of them until I was in her closed guard. Really didn't want to be there. I stupidly left my arm out. She tucked it under her armpit while attempting a triangle somewhat, wrapped her arm around mine placing her forearm below my elbow and pulled. Here's where I have the issue. Do I see how far she takes it? Do I wait til she gives up? Do i try to yank it out? Stand up? Oh wait that burns...this could do some damage. So I reluctantly tap. She stops, looks at the ref who doesn't motion anything and she goes again! I tap more this time and the match finally ends. I didn't hurt too much til I stepped off the mat. Then I felt it and curled up in a ball until the medic came over. It ached like a bitch and it hasn't stopped hurting since then despite the splint, ibuprofen, advil, darvocets and norcos I've been given. I had my friend jessi drive me to the er after waiting around, freaking out and indulging in Brazilian bbq. At this point theres no obvious break but possibly a hairline fracture in the radial head and I can't rotate my wrist. This is my first injury and I understand it's not my last but so far I'm losing my sanity and now my job. I'm learning to deal but not very well. I'll come back with a vengeance and perhaps be more prepared to fight for the kill. All part of the game, journey and lessons learned. I'll post pictures when I'm not in my phone.
Anyone I've ever trained with will tell you that I am made of rubber. "Armbar? Pffft forget it." Yeah I'm flexible and its been somewhat of a blessing but also a curse and I will explain why in this very long post of storytelling. I signed up for the Los Angeles International Open hoping to get at least two matches. I looked at the competitor list to find two other girls in my division and read "Jennifer Liou." Part of me went "fuck" and the other part of me rubbed my hands together while sporting a menacing grin. Rematch.
Flashback to my first tournament ever, the California Classic last November. My first match went well with an armbar from mount. That had me feeling awesome. My second match was Jenny. She stood out from the other girls competing not only because she wasn't wearing any make-up but also because she was entirely silent and had this look like either she was planning a murder or her participation that day was forced upon her. Or both. I wasn't exactly scared of her but you could tell she was already a very serious competitor. I went onto the mat and once the match started we were fighting for grips. I remembered a move that Romulo's friend visiting from Brazil, Jarrao had just taught me which involved passing my elbow over her extended arm that was gripping my lapel and shooting in for a single. It worked but after surviving her guillotine attempt, I somehow ended up with her on my back. She ended up choking me with my lapel but not before giving me gi burns on the bridge of my nose and hands and shoving her hand in my mouth while I attempted to avoid biting it. The girl was a beast and I compared her to a vengeful daughter out for my blood because I killed her Momma. Surely my first taste of a real competitor among many other firsts that day. I later watched her demolish her opponent in a nogi match with a triangle in less than a minute. Throughout the past year I had entered the same competitions as her but due to her being a featherweight, we never got matched up again.
So now back to this past Sunday, the LA Open, put on by the NABJJF, had only three weight classes for women and I was in the 140 and under division which would put Jenny in my bracket. NBD, (no big deal) I would TCB (take care of business.) I had a by and Jenny won the other girl at the last minute, literally. That girl went off and disappeared. She was eventually DQd and since I wouldn't be fighting the loser first, I'd be going in to fight for first. I had been getting my nerves down by joking around and making Jenny laugh. I was at ease, this would just be a fun match and no pressure. But this was also my rematch. I was mentally prepared considering I knew or at least knew that at white belt level, fighting Jenny is like fending off a rabid dog attack. I would soon find out that nothing had changed.
Normally I start my matches with a swift guard pull before my opponent can even remember what their game plan was but this time I waited and circled a bit. I thought, "fuck it," and swooped in. She immediately angled herself for a pass to my left so I planted my right foot on her torso and rolled her over for a sweep. Two points up. From then on she was attack attack attack and I unfortunately was left in defense mode. She got me in a guillotine while I was passing and my lovely teammate yelled for me to watch out for what I had already gotten into. Ha, good lookin' out! I popped my head out and from then on it was me trying to pin her legs together and pass and her going for triangles, omoplatas, guillotines and armbars. I sloppily (new word?) defended all of them until I was in her closed guard. Really didn't want to be there. I stupidly left my arm out. She tucked it under her armpit while attempting a triangle somewhat, wrapped her arm around mine placing her forearm below my elbow and pulled. Here's where I have the issue. Do I see how far she takes it? Do I wait til she gives up? Do i try to yank it out? Stand up? Oh wait that burns...this could do some damage. So I reluctantly tap. She stops, looks at the ref who doesn't motion anything and she goes again! I tap more this time and the match finally ends. I didn't hurt too much til I stepped off the mat. Then I felt it and curled up in a ball until the medic came over. It ached like a bitch and it hasn't stopped hurting since then despite the splint, ibuprofen, advil, darvocets and norcos I've been given. I had my friend jessi drive me to the er after waiting around, freaking out and indulging in Brazilian bbq. At this point theres no obvious break but possibly a hairline fracture in the radial head and I can't rotate my wrist. This is my first injury and I understand it's not my last but so far I'm losing my sanity and now my job. I'm learning to deal but not very well. I'll come back with a vengeance and perhaps be more prepared to fight for the kill. All part of the game, journey and lessons learned. I'll post pictures when I'm not in my phone.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
don't..touch the boobies!!
I recently was approved to become a contributing writer for Suite101.com. I'm not sure how low the approval rate is or how high their standards are but apparently I met them by adding a link to this blog on my application. Suite101 is a freelance writing site that allows people to write basically whatever they want. I choose to write what I know and that's my experiences with BJJ. I know that articles on that site are used for answers to those seeking questions on search sites like google so I wrote my first article for a beginner or someone looking for advice on rolling with girls. What better topic to write about than that? Obviously a lot because I was beating a dead horse. BUT I haven't seen any published writing that was more subjective and whatnot. Sure, I wrote about what's already been said but I figured it was a great way to spread the exposure of BJJ and females to places on the intarwebz other than blogs and forums. My intentions were to write an article stating rebuttals to stupid things guys say regarding the issues they have with rolling with girls--mainly the reasons they don't at all. I originally wrote the subheaders as quotes of the excuses I have heard men make and those were "I'm going to hurt them," "I'm going to violate them" and "Losing to a girl is embarrassing." The editor wanted the headers to be more keyword friendly and make them more relevant to what the average person was going to type into the google search box. I changed it even though it made me sound like I was explaining how every guy makes these excuses and so I'm telling them how to deal with it. I wasn't agreeing that "touching the boobies" was an issue, I was trying to expose these "issues" as retarded and dismiss them altogether. So instead of people reading it and taking whatever applied to them into consideration, I was told that readers felt it was sexist, I was creating a problem that mostly didn't exist and that I sounded unknowledgeable and was asked for my "credentials." I'll blame the editor for changing the complete tone of my article but I thoroughly believe it's filled with some good insight. So read this, and take into consideration that no, not every guy is afraid of molesting a training partner and not every guy is going to have a fit about getting submitted by a lady (or they won't admit haha).
Let me know what you think: http://www.suite101.com/content/why-men-should-train-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-with-females-a295319
P.S. To support my lifestyle, I'm selling stuff I own.. soooooooo I'm just gonna leave this right here...you can take it or leave it...
http://shop.ebay.com/skabarbie101/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25
Let me know what you think: http://www.suite101.com/content/why-men-should-train-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-with-females-a295319
P.S. To support my lifestyle, I'm selling stuff I own.. soooooooo I'm just gonna leave this right here...you can take it or leave it...
http://shop.ebay.com/skabarbie101/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Autumn Shmautumn
Today is the last official day of summer and in a few hours it will be fall. The season change can be noted by the temperature decreases at night, the shorter days and the dreadful traffic that congregates at any 5 mile radius of a school at 8 in the morning and 3pm in the afternoon. What does this have to do with jiu jitsu? Well usually this means that most of us students and those that use all their vacation days in the summer now have less time to train. There are days in the summer that I felt like training from 5 to well past sunset which would give me plenty of time to get some good work in but with the sun now going down much sooner than 8, it affects my drive to train. Instead of thinking about how many times I can roll and drill a technique, I'm thinking of the homework that's due tomorrow or the less and less amount of sleep I'm going to get before I wake up at the crack of dawn for work the next morning. This is no excuse to not train less or not as hard but it really is a change of pace. Goodbye to long summer days filled with jiu jitsu, beach then more jiu jitsu. Holler to 4 hour long classes, hours of studying, the stress of rushing to training from work and or fitting the class jiu jitsu schedule into yours. /Sigh. On a lighter note, American Nationals are this weekend at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson. This will be my first IBJJF competition at blue belt and with 18 girls so far in the absolute division I am so excited. I'm semi-shitting my pants since I've never been in a division that large and I've probably been training less than most of the girls in it but I'm stoked to play my guard. ALSO, speaking of guard, I'm currently working on a zine called Pulling Guard. It's a small DIY magazine. Small meaning about 6 pages and the size of a half sheet of letter paper. It will be xeroxed at a kinkos and handed out at competitions around here with the option of donation. I'm really really excited to get into production with interviews, articles, polls, cute fonts, techniques, product reviews and important information and insight pertaining to today's sport jiu jitsu world. As a sneak peak it will include Romulo Barral (shocker) and a little piece on my friend, coach and new brown belt Benny Dariush. If interested in getting a copy please let me know!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Why didn't I think of this?
I recently read on Sherdog, Hillary's facebook page and a post about a contest based on a project started by Hillary Williams. Just to give you a little insight, when I started jiu jitsu I was posting on a music messageboard that I am a member of (don't judge me) and there is an ongoing thread for jiu jitsu pracitioners. It's a small group and everyone "knows" everyone and so when this username "hillary" started posting, it was made known that she was THEE Hillary Williams. I had no idea who she was and I looked her up. A big competitor and an up and coming female grappler who was already making waves. She had learned Portuguese while also in premed school. She had traveled to Brazil and accomplished so much even as a purple belt. Anyway, she had a lot of great advice to add in our little forum before she stopped posting. I messaged her about being nervous for my first competition back in November and she calmed me down with a cool reply telling me that she still gets nervous and I deserve to be there cause I trained my ass off. Anyway, now a black belt she has made hugeeeeeeee fuckin strides in our sport and here she is again with a great idea. Give her your gis.....so she can send them to the slums in Brazil DUH where kids don't even have gis yet the love for jiu jitsu is very much alive and well in their eyes. So here's her post and I hope it inspires you to send the starter gi you have stored away somewhere.
"On every Jiu Jitsu forum I've been on, once every other month (or so) a thread pops up with "how many gis do you have?" People (myself, unfortunately, included) boast about having 8, 10, and 12 gis. Twelve gis? Really? I train hours and hours a week, but let's be honest. I probably don't need more than four gis, much less 12.
One of the greatest experiences I had on my last Brazil trip was the seminar I taught at a projeto social (community service) gym. We didn't have great mats to roll on, some of the students didn't have gis, and we weren't even indoors--but it was probably my favorite seminar I've taught so far. The students were so enthralled that I came out there just to teach them, and I've never felt like Jiu Jitsu was appreciated as much as it was with those students. For the few hours we were on the mats, no one cared about time, money, problems at home, or anything else. We just did Jiu Jitsu until it was too dark to see.
I was talking to Finfou (Alan do Nascimento) about his projeto in Brazil, in the Cantagalo slum. I met a few students back and forth through Checkmat in Copacabana, but the majority stay in Cantagalo. He told me the students are so dedicated, so hungry to learn, but so many don't train because they don't even have gis.
That's where you come in. I'm not asking you to buy a new gi and ship it out, I'm not asking you to donate your Shoyoroll #7, I'm just asking you to reach out. We all have a "starter gi," and you know what I'm talking about. That gi you used as a white belt and developed a different fashion taste, that gi that shrunk too much in the dryer or the gi that just didn't fit you right, the gi your son grew out of when he turned eight. If you can't donate a gi (understandable), PLEASE talk to your gym, the parents of the kid's programs, or someone you know who might. To you, it means so little. To someone in the projeto, it could mean so much.
I need adult and kid (lots of kids!) gis, hand-me-downs in good condition are absolutely great. My goal is 30-50 gis, and I plan to take them to Brazil with me the next time I go down. If the deal breaker is having to pay the shipping to my gym, well, I'll pay! As well, I hope by now I've earned a reputation of not being someone who would turn around and sell your gis.
I realize this is just one of many projetos, and I realize the task is too grand to be able to get a gi to everyone who is needing them. I hope to help as many as I can and encourage others to do so. Every single person makes a difference. Every single gi will make the life of someone better.
If you'd like to donate, please send your gi to:
Westside MMA RE: Projeto Cantagalo
1021 Jessie Road, Suite N
Little Rock, AR 72202
We write daily about how much Jiu Jitsu has given to us, shouldn't we try to give back?"
"On every Jiu Jitsu forum I've been on, once every other month (or so) a thread pops up with "how many gis do you have?" People (myself, unfortunately, included) boast about having 8, 10, and 12 gis. Twelve gis? Really? I train hours and hours a week, but let's be honest. I probably don't need more than four gis, much less 12.
One of the greatest experiences I had on my last Brazil trip was the seminar I taught at a projeto social (community service) gym. We didn't have great mats to roll on, some of the students didn't have gis, and we weren't even indoors--but it was probably my favorite seminar I've taught so far. The students were so enthralled that I came out there just to teach them, and I've never felt like Jiu Jitsu was appreciated as much as it was with those students. For the few hours we were on the mats, no one cared about time, money, problems at home, or anything else. We just did Jiu Jitsu until it was too dark to see.
I was talking to Finfou (Alan do Nascimento) about his projeto in Brazil, in the Cantagalo slum. I met a few students back and forth through Checkmat in Copacabana, but the majority stay in Cantagalo. He told me the students are so dedicated, so hungry to learn, but so many don't train because they don't even have gis.
That's where you come in. I'm not asking you to buy a new gi and ship it out, I'm not asking you to donate your Shoyoroll #7, I'm just asking you to reach out. We all have a "starter gi," and you know what I'm talking about. That gi you used as a white belt and developed a different fashion taste, that gi that shrunk too much in the dryer or the gi that just didn't fit you right, the gi your son grew out of when he turned eight. If you can't donate a gi (understandable), PLEASE talk to your gym, the parents of the kid's programs, or someone you know who might. To you, it means so little. To someone in the projeto, it could mean so much.
I need adult and kid (lots of kids!) gis, hand-me-downs in good condition are absolutely great. My goal is 30-50 gis, and I plan to take them to Brazil with me the next time I go down. If the deal breaker is having to pay the shipping to my gym, well, I'll pay! As well, I hope by now I've earned a reputation of not being someone who would turn around and sell your gis.
I realize this is just one of many projetos, and I realize the task is too grand to be able to get a gi to everyone who is needing them. I hope to help as many as I can and encourage others to do so. Every single person makes a difference. Every single gi will make the life of someone better.
If you'd like to donate, please send your gi to:
Westside MMA RE: Projeto Cantagalo
1021 Jessie Road, Suite N
Little Rock, AR 72202
We write daily about how much Jiu Jitsu has given to us, shouldn't we try to give back?"
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