Summer Days in the Rio and Coaching/Training at Rio Fighters

Some of the CR crew with Milton Vieira.

Another week down in beautiful Rio de Janiero! Today is a bit atypical weather wise, for the first time in nearly a month it is overcast and even raining at times. The rest of the week was nothing but sun and hot temperatures. The temperatures this week were in the upper 30's to low 40's so when not on the mat or working I spent a large portion of my time in the pool. It is nice that whenever it gets just too hot I can just go outside for a quick swim. There have been frequent daily trips to both Barra and Joatinga beaches from everyone in the house. We have a couple of guys at CR who surf frequently back home and they used the weekend downtime to surf fix up a couple of boards ride here in Barra. On Saturday Nicole had some friends over and after they cooked some delicious Brazilian food, everyone got in the pool. With a few Brazilian girls in the pool it didn't take long for the rest of the house to suddenly “decide” to go for a swim. Before we knew it about half the house was relaxing and joking in the pool. That night a few guys went out to one of the clubs while a group of us stayed in to watch the UFC fights at the house. 

I really like these weekend opportunities to get to know people better. Over the course of the week I am out training or working on a project and many of the guests are training so while we talk and hang out we might not really get to know each other. The weekends are different, people aren't saving energy for training and things are a bit more relaxed for me as well. It makes a great time get to know other people. For example there is an Irish kid here who trains a lot and spends a lot of time resting up for training, but on Saturday he really came out of his shell and is one of the most hilarious guys in the house. He had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard at the things he was saying. 

You never know when a pool party will break out at CR

Week in Training

On Monday a large group of us from CR headed down to Humaita for Rio Fighters first official luta livre class. While there has been pro MMA training going on, the gym did not officially open until Monday. There were around 30 guys on the mat for the inaugural, many of which were luta livre black belts. The class started with a long warm up of running, calisthenics, and BJJ specific movement drills. We covered a pass and then a couple of attacks from side control. The techniques were taught with great detail and I was able to pick up a few new things I think will work great for me. The rolling was competitive and faced paced. The guys weren't mean or dirty, they were just plan tough. You had to fight for every inch, everybody had a very never never say die attitude and refuse to accept a negative position. It actually reminded me a ton of a wrestling practice, so in other words I felt at home. I had a very fun roll with a luta livre black belt that sent us from one side of the mat to the other. I used my wrestling very heavy to pressure him and he responded back with attacks of his own. Right near the end of our roll I attacked the head from side control, he hipped out and changed the angle and I immediately felt off balance and in trouble. I made my normal adjustments but realized I suddenly couldn't get my arm back and the next thing I knew I was in the craziest wrist-lock and I had to tap. All I could do was just sit there for a second dumbfounded and say “boa, boa submission” (good, good submission).

Me with some of the guys in the house.

As you might have guest from my earlier posts, I am training full time now at Rio Fighters. In addition to that I am happy to also say that I am the wrestling coach at Rio Fighters. I am teaching there two days a week and training there everyday. The gym is a great fit for me. The style is very aggressive yet technical which allows me to really embrace my wrestling mentality and learn to adjust it towards luta livre, BJJ, and MMA. After every training session I walk out of there tired but feeling great because I know I made improvements over the course of the training. Being there training just feels right. Milton said part of the reason he wanted me to coach/train there was because my style of coaching and wrestling compliments his style of grappling, coaching and fighting. He wants fast paced hard practices for the wrestling classes, with a college wrestling intensity. Another cool thing is when I am coaching Milton is just another one of the guys training, he is there to train hard and learn. 

A Day at the Races and Hard Sparring

At the horse races.

It's been a busy week here in Rio. We had a wave of new arrivals from all over the world come in, plus we were working on several projects around CR (add to that training) it made for a packed schedule. As a result Nicole and I decided to make the most of the weekend and get some good R&R in. On Saturday afternoon we decided to head to Rio's famous Jockey Club, Hipodromo, in Gavea. Built in the 1920's the track and grand stands look like it was straight out of The Great Gatsby. The buildings are all granite with marble flooring and wood seating and betting counters. The club itself is free to get into and if you are betting there is a 3R bet minimum (less than 1.5 USD) so you can have a good time for a fairly low price. Nicole and I decided to use going to the races as an excuse to get dressed up, so we ditched our normal attire of shorts and tshirts for nicer clothing. We met several friends there and we spent the afternoon placing small bets and drinking a few cold beverages and overall enjoying the day. At first we really had no idea about making bets and how to pick a “winner” but by the end we could at least make a more educated guess (even managed to pick a couple of winners). Overall on the day I think I left about 7R down but it was more than worth it. After the races we headed over to a small restaurant and split a couple of pizzas before heading back to Barra. We all had a ton of fun and I think we are going to make a trip to the horse races a monthly thing.

Nicole and I at the Jockey Club.

On Sunday Nicole and I got up and did our normal thing of going for breakfast and the farmers market. After going to the farmers markets for so long the vendors know our faces and often times make sure that we get some of the best fruits and veggies that they have to offer. When we got back to the house we relaxed and read, trying to wait out the hottest part of the day. About mid afternoon we headed down to Joatinga beach. Joatinga is a small semi-private beach located about a 10 minute walk from the house. Tucked away in a really nice neighborhood, the beach is a small patch of sand surrounded by rocks and cliffs, when the tide comes in the beach itself disappear under the waves so you have to time it just right to enjoy the beach. It's a very relaxed atmosphere where you see very few non Brazilians and most people are spending their time tanning, surfing, or kicking around a futebol. Nicole and I spent a few hours relaxing at the beach before heading out as the sun was setting and the tide was creeping up the beach. There is no better way to recharge the batteries and get ready for another hard week of training, than to just sit back and enjoy what Rio has to offer.

Week Training

Showing some technique. Photo by M. Viera.

Even though it was a busy week I still put in plenty of time in at the gym. Things clicked a bit more for me this week grappling wise, I was still getting it handed to me but overall I felt a lot more solid and smooth in my rolling. I have been spending a lot of time thinking back over my rolling and trying to analyze a few things and I have really found a few gaps that I need to work on closing. BJJ (like most martial arts) is incredibly humbling, you think that you are on a certain level and then BAM! Someone serves you a slice of humble pie and you realize you have a long way to go. That's kind of where I am at with my jiu-jitsu. I could look at it with frustration (it's VERY easy to do), but I am trying to embrace it with open arms because I know in the end that is what will make me better.

It feels really good to be getting back into hard training. Training in general is never easy, but I'm talking tough, taxing-- both mentally and physically-- training. This past Friday's sparring session was one of those. It was probably close to 37C day so you almost started sweating as soon as you stepped on the mat. We warmed up and drilled striking combos and takedowns for about 45 minutes and then moved onto sparring. We did three five minute rounds MMA-- strikes and takedowns with quick stand-ups if there was any static positions in grappling. Each round we rotated to a new partner. The first two guys I sparred were bigger than me and I had to try to use speed and movement to avoid being out muscled or eating heavy shots. The third guy was was a little bit smaller than me but lighting fast so I had to find ways of slowing the pace down so I could get in range to land solid strikes and takedowns. The toughest spar was my second one against a big, tough, and experienced fighter. I started strong and landed a hit, a couple of nice takedowns, and was holding my own on the feet. As the round wore on though he used his strength to wear me down and tire me out. My punches and shots got slower and my hands got lower and he started to put it on me a bit more. I didn't wither away though, I used getting tired to piss me off and I kept battling (although sloppily) until the end of the round. It wasn't a great round for me, but I used it as a gut check; a test of my gameness. Instead of curling up letting the guy pummel me I kept fighting and throwing until the end....I do have a nice black eye to show for it though. After the MMA sparring we took off the gloves and rolled two five minute rounds of nogi submission. I felt the best I have rolling in awhile and was able to pull some good things from the training session. Just sitting here writing this is getting my blood pumping, I am excited for Monday to come so I can get back into the gym and continue to get better!  

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Copa Podio, Tough Training and the Importance of Hydration

It's been a busy week here in Rio. Between training, teaching, and going to the airport to pick up people arriving to compete in this past weeks Copa Podio I had little time to sit back and relax (until the weekend that is). First with the Copa Podio, I have to say it was probably their best event yet. The action was fast paced and there was a ton of submissions. Not only that but we somehow managed to get great floor seats so we were front row for all the action and were served free guarana (a Brazilian soft drink) and sandwiches. Talk about living the good life! On the bus back from the CP we happen to run into another guy, James, from the house and decided to head out to the Budweiser Bar in Barra to watch the UFC fights. Normally I wouldn't really mention the name of the bar but I wanted to mention the Bud Bar for the fact that a bar owned and sponsored by Budweiser ran out of Budweiser early in the night and had to sell other brands of beer to the patrons. Only in Brazil. On Sunday night a group of us went out to watch the Super Bowl and eat nachos at one of the local bars. The game was crap but at least we had some live samba music, good food, and a lot of laughs.

Copa Podio action.

Week in Training

I spent the majority of my week training MMA at Rio Fighters. There are some really tough and quality fighters there. Generally speaking in nogi I feel like I can handle my own against most guys (meaning I at least feel like I can push people and give a quality roll). But at RF there are several guys (including Milton) who just school me and make me feel like I know nothing. It is both frustrating and humbling but I know in the end it will only make me better. One thing I have been struggling with grappling wise is trying to integrate more techniques into my game. The problem is it is making me hesitate and think about what I am doing not just flowing and feeling. It really makes my game feel disjointed and at times awkward. With watching Milton I have come to realize that whatever movement or transition he makes he is 100% certain in what he is doing. I mean he goes at it with full confidence in what he is doing will work.

This past week I also started up hard sparing in MMA. I felt really good overall but noticed a few things that need adjustment. The biggest thing I need to work on is my timing, it was just a little off and I wasn't as smooth with my strikes to takedowns as I would like. The other thing is my leg kick defense is back to near zero. I ate a lot of kicks which made skating difficult for the 24 hours after sparring.

Training at Rio Fighters. Photo by M. Vieira

This past week I also learned a very important lesson, one that I often preach but this time I forgot to follow it; staying hydrated. Tuesday was a hot really hot day and we wrestled hard at the gym. During training I felt great; I moved well, my cardio was high, and I was executing good technique. As we were leaving the gym as soon as I stepped out into the sun I began to feel sick and lightheaded. We stopped to get a juice and some food but it didn't help and by the time I got home I felt really sick. I spent the rest of the day in bed sleeping and drinking water. Anytime I got up I immediately felt dizzy. Finally by about 10 pm, after drinking a few liters of water, I was able to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without feeling ill. The next day I still didn't feel 100% and made spent most of the day re-hydrating. I think the combo of not drinking enough water plus the heat from the sun really did me in. Since then I have been chugging a huge glass of water when I wake up and make sure I am drinking a lot of water throughout the day. It was a little bit scary, but luckily no harm came.