About two years ago I began training
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and what a journey it's been so far. In that
short time I've seen training partners come and go, trained at 3
different places, seen a handful of drama (luckily I've never been in
the thick of it), experienced losses, more bruises than I can count,
mat burns, aches and pains, and have come into contact with another
man's sweat in ways I hope to never ever have happen again. Despite
all that, walking into Gracie Barra University and training with
Caveirinha two years ago has been the best thing I've ever done.
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| Gracie Barra (GB), where it all started |
I still remember my first day. Walking
up the stairs to Gracie Barra, not even sure if I was in the right
place, nervous out of my mind about what was to come. I got tossed
around and tapped out like a true rookie that day. I was partnered up
with Dustin and Jojo, who were really friendly and helpful, and I
learned how to do a kimura (a type of shoulder lock). It was awesome, I was hooked, and I had
to learn more. I've tried to keep up with training and learning BJJ
ever since.
But as oh-so-subtly hinted at in the
first paragraph, training has been anything but just training. Issues
arose which strained the relationship between Caveirinha and Gracie
Barra management and naturally that tension was transferred onto the
mat. The once affable atmosphere wasn't the same, and there were
several awkward moments where arguments between management and
Caveirinha were well within earshot and eyesight of everybody there.
Those issues combined with some
financial strain left me with a decision to make. Training at GB was
always on the pricey side but learning under Caveirinha and rolling
with the people there made it worth it. But Caveirinha was there less
and less, and a lot of training partners disappeared. Reluctantly, I
decided to stop training at Gracie Barra early this year.
I went a few months without rolling
until the UFC Gym opened. And what d'ya know, all of those training
partners that disappeared from GB showed up at UFC. Financially, UFC
made sense too (thanks to that employer discount) and I had a new
place to workout and roll. Leandro Nyza teaches the BJJ classes and
he's really good. Everything was, and still is, very fundamental but
he offers some unique details about techniques and I like getting his
perspective.
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| CJJF has arrived! |
After a few months at UFC, a buzz began
to grow about Caveirihna breaking away from Gracie Barra and opening
his own school. Rumor of it spread and anticipation skyrocketed but
it never left the realm of rumor. It was always have you
heard...somebody told me...and
things like that. But then just over a month ago rumor became reality
and the Caveirinha Jiu-Jitsu Family Association opened in Honolulu. I
joined right away. Don't get me wrong, Nyza is good and the UFC gym
is great as a gym, but to really advance in BJJ Caveirinha is the man
to follow.
Nowadays
I train at both UFC and CJJF (gotta love all the acronyms). I've come
a long way since that first day. In addition to that first kimura I
learned, I now know armbars, triangle chokes, ankle locks,
americanas, various chokes, and techniques to move an opponent twice
my size in ways that make them feel lighter than me. And that's just
the tip of the iceberg. There's so much more to learn, both in
regards to technique and the mental approach to BJJ.
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| The day Caveirihna gave me a blue belt. I forgot I still had a beard then. |
So the
techniques are cool and all, and training is loads of fun but what
else has BJJ done for me? Why, after 2 years, is it still the best
thing I've ever done? When I boil it all down, basically it's made me
better. In almost every way. I'm more fit. I'm more flexible. I've
learned to better keep my composure in difficult situations on and
off the mat. My confidence has increased by leaps and bounds. It's
turned me from a shy, timid, quiet person that would frantically
avoid everything outside of a limited comfort zone into somebody
who's finally realizing a solid belief in himself. It's like every
time I successfully pull off a technique or catch a submission or
defend a submission, it's a little personal victory. And those small
victories seem to add up and resonate within me and build up my
overall character. That's the best way I can describe it. It's crazy
and it's only been 2 years!
