It's been awhile since my last blog, not because I haven't been doing much, but rather I have been on the go for the last few weeks and this is the first time I have had a chance to sit and type up some of the happenings here in Rio. Between family visiting, competing, and the UFC it's been a great few weeks here.
First my dad, mom, and aunt arrived in Rio for close to two weeks. It had been close to two years since I last saw them and it's hard to put into words how great it was to have them here. In addition to my normal training schedule, having them here gave me a chance to enjoy some more of the touristy parts of Rio. We spent an afternoon checking out the Lapa Arches, the Serlarone steps, and Santa Teresa. For those who don't know, Santa Teresa is a more Bohemian area of the city, filled with great restaurants, bars, and art galleries. We also ate lunch and hiked the grounds of Parque de Lage, a huge mansion in part of the Tijuca National Forest. We even made a trip to Rio's Jockey Club and laid a few bets on some of the horse races, my dad was able to give me some good pointers on picking some winners.
During my families trip to Rio I decided to compete in the Rio International Submission Cup, which is a submission grappling tournament held every year in Rio. The competition has a unique set of rules blending together luta livre esportiva and BJJ. Competitors where penalized for pulling guard and there were no advantages, but at lower belt levels all other standard ibjjf rules applied. Since my family was here and I was eating MASSIVE quantities of food I went up from lightweight to middleweight because there was no way I was going to keep my weight down. When the tournament rolled around I had 16 guys from various BJJ and Luta Livre academies in my bracket. In my first match I submitted my opponent in around 4 minutes with an arm triangle. My second opponent, a short stocky guy, spent most of the match battling in halfguard after I took him down. I managed and secure a pass later in the match and won the fight 5-0. In my semifinals match I battled a tough guy from Soul Fighters. There were a few fast scrambles, and my opponent was attacking for submissions. I kept up my pressure and working to pass. He started to slow down and I kept hammering the pace. In the last minute and I half I broke the match open and won 9-0. I was able to watch the guy I had in the finals and watched over and over on how he tied up with his opponent on his feet and made a mental note of it. When the match started, he went to tie up, but I was already countering his tie and shooting in on a single leg. I finished the takedown with a lift and trip, and landed outside of his guard. When he tried to hip escape and reguard I locked in an anaconda choke, made the adjustments Milton was telling me, and got the submission in 40 seconds. I was pretty pumped up after the win, I expected to win, but having my team, coaches, and family there (not to mention finishing the finals with the submission that Milton is accredited with mastering) really made it special.
So it came time for the medal awards, I get up on the podium with the other competitors and Milton put the gold medal on my neck and I look up for the photos. I glance back down at Milton who was still standing there now with a purple belt in his hands! I was completely and totally shocked. It was an amazing moment for me to have him award me with my purple belt, especially with having my family there to witness it. There have been, and continue to be a ton of people who have helped me so far on my journey. First I would like to thank Milton Vieira, who has shown me keys to adopting his unique and technical game of grappling, and who has welcomed me with open arms into his academy Rio Fighters. Next I would like to thank Dennis Asche, who has not only had the biggest influence on my kimono game, but if he hadn't started Connection Rio I most likely would have never ventured to Brazil in 2010--the trip that showed me what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I have been fortunate to have other great instructors who have helped me embrace BJJ, Clint Crabtree of GRBJJ, Jim Burchfield, and Jason Fox all come to mind. I wouldn't have made the journey without great training partners, which thanks to CR I have had a near endless supply, Mike Tlalka, Christian Pierce, Andrew Morse and Nabas are a few of the standout; of course all thank you to all my teamates as Rio Fighters. Finally I would like to thank Senki Kimonos, who has never left in want for quality kimonos, shorts, or rashguards, without there support I would be much worse for wear training gear wise (not to mention not as stylish) on the mats.
As I said above this last few weeks have been a busy, so much so it's difficult to get it all into one blog. So for my next blog I will be talking about watching UFC 179 live and some of my experiences of UFC fight week in Rio.
