Hard Rolling and Training at Escola de Boxe

Post training in Rocinha.

The cool “winter” weather of Rio is gone and the sun has been out all week without a cloud in the sky. In our down time here at CR everyone has been out working on their tan at the beach or poolside here at the house. The warm weather at night has been perfect for grilling food out on the barbeque and enjoying a meal under the stars. Just because it was beautiful out doesn't mean we didn't spend plenty of time in the gym. The house is currently filled with dedicated athletes and competitors....so dedicated that a couple of guys chose to integrate low single leg attacks to their dance moves at a club here in Barra—that was impressive.

Week in Training

Escola de Boxe in Rocinha is a top notch gym to improve
your boxing.

This week I went into Escola da Boxe Jorge Oliviera in Rocinha to train both muay thai and boxing. For those who don't know, Rocinha is a large favela located near Sao Conrado. Jorge Oliviera, one of my boxing coaches, runs the school teaching all levels of fighters. The gym is located in the Complexo Esportivo, which is a government funded sports complex. The complex has free training in everything from judo to surfing for members of the Rocinha community. The boxing training area is located on the lower floor, and is a no frills training area (just the way I like it). Mirrors line the walls, multiple heavy bags hang, and in the middle of the training facility is the boxing ring. We warmed up with some light muay thai shadow boxing and worked into light technical sparring; one guy moving in for attacks and the other countering and moving. After a couple of rounds one of my boxing coaches Jean had us throw on some headgear and spar a few rounds of boxing. It was my first time sparring since hurting my ankle, but I felt great. My movement and defense felt good. I am working more slips to counters, but I really need to focus on letting my hands go. I was throwing my punches one or two at a time, and not mixing it up like I should. As other guys finished their sparring I did some hard bag work drills and hit mitts. We finished the training of with some technical muay thai work, because I don't have any fights lined up we focused on more traditional MT (instead of MT for mma) and we spent a lot of time working kick defense and counters plus short elbow work.

Some of the guys sparring.

On Friday afternoon I headed into Nova Uniao for bjj training. At the 4p.m. session we covered two sweeps from half guard. Rolling went good, but I have a bad habit of stopping in certain positions. I will flow and battle then get into a position and stop for a few moments and then start again. The problem is, against good grapplers it allows them to catch up and start improving their positions. It allows them to change from reacting to acting offensively. One of the black belts and I had an intense roll filled with a ton of scrambles. At one point while he was in open guard I managed to quickly hit a standing pass, as he scrambled I took his back and cranked a power half over and was threatening with a choke. He found a gap in my technique and eventually scrambled out, as he did the intensity elevated. He came at me with an aggressive flurry of attacks, fighting hard for chokes (and getting a couple). I used my wrestling in the scrambles trying to cut angles working to get my offense going again. While some may view his aggression and hard attacks as a negative, for me it was a compliment. I put him in a position where he felt like he had to go hard and attack hard. I enjoy the hard rolling and battling. To me it acts like a test of ones gameness; battling to overcome tough situations and adversity. After class we talked for a bit and he was a nice guy and I look forward to rolling with him more. After class Dennis offered some good pointers on technique and theories.

I grabbed an acai and espresso and headed back to NU, threw on a dry kimono and trained in the night class. We covered a nice choke and far side armbar from knee on belly. I felt good rolling, I focused on continual movement and opening up to go for submissions. One position I actively worked from was turtle instead of just blocking and defending I took more of a wrestling thought process and got hand control and worked sit-outs, hip-heists, and other wrestling techniques. While rolling with a good purple belt I hit a sit-out to a high turn in. Instead of finishing the entire technique I tried to transition to the kimura. I gave too much space and didn't secure the position first which allowed him to hip over and take side control. It's a work in process, but there is a lot more room to add in more of my wrestling for bjj. During that roll the guy sunk in a deep bow and arrow choke, I was just able to get my hands in to protect my neck, but it was tight. He kept adjusting and trying to get the finish, a couple times I would see a bit of black creeping in, but I was able to adjustment to survive and eventually escape as he transitioned to another attack. He looked at me and said in broken English, “strong neck” and we got back to grappling. In the roll I was able to work a nice armbar from the back. As I was cranking it and he was fighting it, he tried to roll through but I adjusted and got it in deeper; he didn't tap but the instructor gave a warning for safety and I let it go. It had to be deep and there was no point in risking injury. After I caught the bus back into Barra, thinking about training and admiring the scenery I couldn't help but think of how fortunate I am to be here in Rio. I really do love this place and it's feeling more and more like home.

Making Adjustments to Make Improvements

Group shot after boxing and muay thai training.

This past week we hit the eight month mark in Brazil! It really doesn't feel like we have been here for nearly a year, but looking back the amazing experiences I've had so far are almost too many to count. After getting settled in after the move last week I was able to catch up on my rest and my training.

Week in Training

CR HQ where Nicole and I live and manage.

I got the week started off on the right foot on Monday with some good wrestling training. I have been going back to the basics and focusing a lot more on my techniques and chaining my wrestling together so I can get my timing back. I think sometimes having a strong base in one art you can sometimes get a bit lax on perfect technique because you can still get away with moves against people not as well versed as you. In the last couple of weeks, training with some great athletes and fighters who have a strong wrestling base, I haven't felt as crisp or smooth as I should. It's good because it has forced me to re-evaluate some of my training and allow me make adjustments where they are needed.

Part of the adjustment has been doing a bit more rehab work on my ankle. Pretty much since the injury I have just let it heal and rested it when needing it; but I got some good tips from Dennis on how to strengthen my ankle by putting on a diving flipper and sitting on the edge of the pool and kicking my foot for 10-15 minutes everyday. I focus on slow kicks with complete range of motion, it's a simple yet effective technique. Even after only a week it feels much better from a range of motion stand point. While training striking I was able to cut more angles, step my feet better, and for the first time since the injury I was able to throw and check some kicks without pain.

Wrestling at Premiere house deck. Photo by bjjpix.com

The BJJ training this week was, as always, top notch. On Tuesday Dennis came in for his weekly class at the house. It was a drill heavy technique session where we covered a standing sweep series, and spent a lot of time working the positional transitions from one sweep to the next. We then spent a large portion of time hitting the sweeps one-for-one with our partners giving us different looks so we would have to make the proper adjustments to sweep. We finished off the class by working a butterfly guard sweep, which fits my explosive style well. To cap the week of training off I headed into Nova Uniao for training on Friday. It was great to say the least. The technique covered was another butterfly pass that works hand-in-hand with the pass that Dennis had shown earlier in the week. The rolling was extremely competitive as always, and my transitions and scrambles felt better than they have for the last couple of weeks. I felt a bit more creative with my attacks as well (including pulling off a nice reverse triangle on a scramble). There was some extremely tough guys on the mat that day including this slick blue belt who once I was in his guard had me solely on the defensive, using his hips and submission attempts to shut down my offense. While I wasn't the happiest after the roll I took some consolation from the fact that I watched him giving higher ranking belts fits as well. I finished the class out with a roll against a short stocky brown belt. In my roll against him I felt like I used my wrestling for bjj better than I have in a while. I felt comfortable in scrambles and kept a calm mind if I got put in a bad position. A couple of times he got me to turtle position, which instead of being defensive or trying to re-guard, I got wrist control, and worked for hip-heist escapes or switches. Out of one of the scrambles I found him hitting a standing pass, I was able to sit up in half guard and I realized I was in one of the positions I had worked through earlier in the week at the CR wrestling class (thanks to Ryosie for asking me the question that made me have to teach the position). I was able to turn the corner on a low single and work up to take the back with a single hook and a power half (I prefer it to the double hooks). While we weren't there for long, he quickly scrambled out, it was a strong transition and I felt better during that roll than I have in a while. I finished up with the session with some drilling and then headed back to CR....after my post training acai and espresso of course.

Who says you need to head to the beach for fresh
 agua de coco? Fresh from the garden.

The weekend was a relaxing one, with everyone getting together to watch the UFC fights and just hanging out together. Unfortunately it was a bit rainy so no beach time, but its never a dull moment in the house and there is always something or someone to make you laugh.  

Training at CR, Nova Uniao and Post BBQ Challenges

photo by bjjpix.com

This past week has been a busy one. Nicole and I moved over to CR HQ, so the first part of the week was spent packing and unpacking, and the start of many small projects around the Connection Rio hostels. But one thing is for certain in Brazil, it's never all work and no play; I got some great training in this week along with some BBQing and a night of athletic challenges.

Picture of the interview I did with Jiu Jitsu Style Mag...
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Wrestling and Nogi at HQ

This week Connection Rio started up a weekly wrestling gringo class aimed to help people grappling from the feet. Every match starts on the feet and you have to be able to dictate the pace and put the your opponent where you want them. The class went great and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Also with the sun out it made for some great open air nogi training. On Thursday afternoon when I came back from wrestling guys were setting up the mats for some nogi training. We spent the next hour or so rolling, showing techniques and finished it off with a swim in the pool.

BJJ at Nova Uniao

After training at Nova Uniao

On Friday afternoon I went into Flamengo to train at Nova Uniao. I caught their afternoon class, which while smaller in size, was not less in quality. I was working with a tall lanky blue belt, who during drills and technique felt clumsy and awkward, but as soon as we started rolling live broke out with a slick and skilled open guard game. I was not expecting that and quickly had to turn up the pace, we spent the rest of the roll battling for position, with both of us attacking then countering. It was a great lesson in not judging a book by it's cover in the bjj world. I was a bit drained from the long week (which was frustrating) but I still had a good training. While not as offensive as I would have like my defense and countering felt good. I'm starting to work my bottom half guard more, I have been using it to create scrambles and escapes which favor my hard wrestling style of BJJ.

The competitive rolls and world class instruction is top-notch at NU. Athough it is a bit of a trip to get there from Barra, I am going to make more of an effort to head to NU to get some gi training in at least once a week.

BBQing

Post BBQ bjj challenges...fighting the RNC.

After a long week of training it was nice to relax and have a day to just sit back, throw some meat on the grill and relax with friends. There was a ton of food on the grill including ribs, burgers, sausages, and steak. The grill was full for hours and everyone was stuffed by the end of the evening.

As happens when you get a group of athletes together a lot of talking and some boasting starts, which inevitably turns into challenges. First they started off easier, 10 second hand stands, 10 wall press-ups, but quickly escalated to 30 submission challenges, and fighting off chokes for time. It was a ton of fun and the atmosphere in the house was one of friendship and hilarity. That's one of the great things about being here at CR, not only am I getting phenomenal training, but I am making friendships that will span the globe.

Training Under the Rio Sun and Inside Rio's MMA Scene

Group shot of all of us at Premiere House for training.

This past week in Rio has been another good one. The cool rainy “winter” weather of last week has passed and this week was filled with sunny days perfect for a post training acai or agua de coco at the beach. This week, as always, brought great training as well as some awesome experiences in Rio's MMA scene.

Week in Training

Training out on Premiere House deck. Photo by Dennis Asche

With the past weekend's Rio Open (which I unfortunately was unable to compete in), the CR houses are still filled with many great competitors, which made for excellent training. On Monday the sun was out and the air was warm but not too hot, so Dennis decided to teach his class out on Premiere house's top deck. The class was large and included experienced grapplers at all belt levels including four black belts staying at CR. There was Dennis, Raphael Simoes (an accomplished Gordo BB), Tony (a second degree from LA), and Fernando ( a 4^th degree under Mario Sperry from Porto Alegra). Rolling was intense but fun. Having a chance to roll with four black belts from different schools gave me a great look at many different (and dominating) styles. With Dennis I felt the controlling and aggressive attack, creating openings and capitalizing on them. With Raphael I had to grappling against someone who moved with water-like fluidity and grace, rolling from one position to the next and then attacking fast. Tony brought a very good guard game filled with different sweeps, as I would try to defend he would simply hit another sweep or move to take the back. With Fernando the rolling was almost like a game of chess, he would let you make a move by opening positions up to lead you down a path playing right into his sweep or submission—you could see the light at the end of the tunnel, but then he would smash the tunnel shut. The other guys also from all over the world- England, U.S., Morocco, Italy, all presented different challenges and techniques. For me the class was a big lesson on how there is no “right way” of BJJ styles--there is a “right way” concerning BJJ technique-- but your style and theory behind your techniques can vary from one person to the next with each being able to find success. So now I just need to focus on my “style”, continue to correct my technique and carry on down the road.

My training for the rest of the week went really well, I felt really strong in my luta livre training, quickly changing off from one attack to another. The biggest jump for me is that as I was rolling I could feel positions that were awkward or uncomfortable for the guys I was grappling against and use it as an opening for submission attacks, even if I didn't directly know what I was going after. I would grapple, and continue to work until the submission presented itself.

Out in Rio's MMA Scene

The CR Crew at WOCS with Pedro Rizzo, Rogerio Cameos, 
and Oliver Liete.
Photo by Denni Asche.

I also had the great opportunity to go behind the scenes this week leading up to UFC 163 here in Rio. Due to some Visa issues MMA Spirit fighter Sheila Gaff was short on corner men. Dennis went to see if he could help out. Luckily I happened to be with him and Antoine when they went down to the hotel where the UFC was setting up shop for fight week. While I see and train with a lot of fighters from the UFC, it was still a bit surreal to be behind signs reading “Fighters, Training Camps, and UFC Personnel Only”. We entered the press room and there was Mike Goldberg just tapping away at his computer. Soon things got straightened out and we were asked to stick around and watch Sheila

train. Until the slated workout time we relaxed in the lobby, many fighters, trainers and managers passing through. It's times like these that I realize how many people I have met since moving to Rio. I saw a lot of familiar faces and was able to talk with and catch up with a few people I hadn't seen in a while. Soon it was time to go down to the UFC workout room, which had bags, a scale and specialized UFC mats laid out. I was asked if I wanted to train with Daniel Weichell, a very accomplished fighter from MMA Spirit who fights for M-1. We spent about a half hour of solid wrestling both of us fighting hard for position. My timing was off which was frustrating, but I still wrestled well. Most of the time was spent heavily hand fighting or scrambling out of positions. My takeaway from the training though is that I need to work on my finishes and chain wrestling more to get my timing down. After training we headed out to the car and along the way Antoine introduced me to Eric, Team Noguiera's wrestling coach. He was a real nice guy and we all piled into the car and headed for a post training acai and espresso at Bibi's. We spent the next hour or so talking wrestling and fighting and joking around.

Ian McCall stands off against Iliarde Santos at the UFC 163 weigh-ins.

Friday came quickly this week and Nicole and I headed down to the UFC weigh-ins at HSBC Arena. We had good seats and had a great view of the weigh-ins. After they finished we headed back to CR met up with a bunch of others and headed into Larenjeiras to WOCS (Watch Out Combat Show). The fights were fast paced and there were some excellent finishes, as well as some all out battles. When the show finished Dennis got us down to the main floor and we met some big names including Pedro Rizzo, Eric Silva, and the President of WOCS Teta.

The Champ Weighing in.

We finished the week off by relaxing at the beach and watching UFC 163 at one of the great local bars here in Barra with friends. It was a great way to cap off another great week in Rio.