The Arte Suave--Lost in Translation

This past week I again had the privilege and honor to train with/learn from Master Ze Mario Sperry, when he came in to train at Rio Fighters.  Watching Ze Mario roll and having him perform techniques on me I was again amazed by his maintaing of considerable pressure throughout smoothly transitioning from one move to the next. On the way back to Connection Rio after training I began to reflect on my 3 years here living in a BJJ Hostel and training in the Cradle of Jiujitsu. After seeing scores of juijiteiros come through CR and seeing what their thoughts of training the Arte Sauve in was, I have realized that for many practitioners of BJJ that term has become lost in translation.

If I type 'arte suave' into google translate the first translation is "soft art" (other options include "gentle art", "mild art", and "tender art"). Now anyone who has used translation apps in a foreign country knows that those apps aren't always the most reliable; you could for instance find yourself at a bakery asking for Hungarian penis when what you want is cinnamon bread (that actually happened to someone at the local bakery). After three years here in Rio I have had the opportunity to consistently train with world class martial artists and I have picked up on Portuguese, and I have come to realize the true translation of the 'arte suave' is the "smooth art".

I think a lot of people miss this or think that smooth and soft are in fact the same thing. Rolling with high level guys in Rio you quickly realize there is very little that is soft in there game, but they seamlessly transfer from one position to the next in such a way that their movements seem effortless. There may be some who might be quick to point out that guys like Ze Mario are bigger and "old school" and many of my training partners are MMA focused so of course there is a heavy emphasis on pressure so they just have a more "smashing style". Well ok I can see where you are coming from...

BUT----  Many people who come stay at Connection Rio at one point or another check out Academia Terere. Terere is not a big guy and is known for a very dynamic style, but the two things that CR guests who roll with him comment on are  his smooth transitions and his unending pressure both on top and on bottom. I also have the privilege to frequently train with CJ Murdock, who is a black belt and CR sponsored athlete here in the house. CJ, who weighs slightly less than me, is a true student of BJJ. He doesn't use much strength, he snatches openings and works to systematically eliminate your options positionally to guide you to where he wants you to be. As a said above CJ uses VERY little strength but to call his game soft or gentle is a huge misstatement--he is calculated and works to stifle any offense you try to mount, he is SMOOTH.

In closing I would like to reiterate, I am not saying you have to use a "HULK SMASH" mentality or a hyper aggressive style of BJJ, but you don't have to approach it as a if you were carrying antique vase worth $50,000 either. Focus on making things smooth, through economy of motion your movements from the outside will look like there is little pressure or manipulation happening,    but the person you are rolling with will know better. Above all enjoy the Arte Suave, have fun, and keep it sssssmmmmmmoooooooooooooottttttttttttthhhhhhhhhhhhh.    

CR BJJ Hostel- Helping You Drink From the Source Spring of BJJ

photo by Fernando Pereira.

The world of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is ever growing and expanding globally every day. World class gyms are located in cities like London, L.A., New York, San Diego, Miami and many more. So why should the BJJ Traveler chose to come to Rio? Because this is the "Cradle of BJJ" and you have an opportunity to immerse yourself in the BJJ Lifestyle.

Imagine if you will a fresh water spring that bubbles up out of the ground. If you were to bottle the water as it came out of the ground you would have the purest and healthiest water available.      BJJ in Rio is just tHat- BJJ in its purest form. Now before I continue, I want to say I am by no means slamming gyms outside of Rio---as I said above there are world class gyms outside of Rio, but I'm talking about purity of the BJJ philosophy. If you were to trace most all of the top BJJ academy owners/professors world wide its is most likely their BJJ roots are tied to Rio.

Coming to Rio to train is about more than learning just techniques, but its about learning the philosophy, concepts, and history of BJJ. The other day at Rio Fighters after training I had the opportunity to relax mat side and get tips, ideas, and here stories of the "old school" Carlson Gracie Academy days from one of my instructors Rogerio Miranda. By hearing these stories you learn how some of the best BJJ and MMA instructors (and formally fighter) honed their skills and created their games. Here in Barra it's common to walk along the Pepe Beach (where some of the storied "old school" fights happened) and pass by the Nogueira brothers walking, Master Ze Mario Sperry carrying his surfboard, or some other BJJ figure out and about.

Being the GM for Connection Rio BJJ Hostel some of the most common statements I hear are "you won't believe who came onto the mat" or "there were x-amount of blackbelts on the mat today". These statements are not just made by guys who train at small gyms, these statements have been made from guys who train at some of the top gyms (ex Renzo's, Roger's, Xande's, etc.) in the world. Here in Rio it is not uncommon to have a Coral Belt step on the mat or a former multiple-time world champion to come in to pay his respects to an academies instructor and roll. On a given day (especially at an open mat) you can get 20+ Black Belts on the mat. That's right 20+. Lets just break that down--if the average time to get a black belt is 10 years, thats 200+ years of mat time, and that's if they are just newly promoted blackbelts, many of these black belts will be 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and some 5th degree black belts. So on a given day you could have a 1/4 of a millennium on the mat---how's that for an experience.

I want to close out by talking a bit about Connection Rio. I know I have a  bias opinion because I am sponsored by and work for CR BJJ Hostel, but I CHOSE to work for CR for a reason---because I believe in the mission of the company. I came to CR as a guest in 2010 and because of CR, I had those experiences that I wrote about above. When I moved to Rio in 2012 and began working for Dennis Asche and CR, a great many  more doors were opened to me. Stepping into various academies throughout the city representing CR I already had an established credibility with the instructors, instead of being just another BJJ traveler passing through the door. I believe that Connection Rio is the best way for BJJ practitioners to come to the Cradle of BJJ, and drink directly from the spring of knowledge that is here--I don't say that as a CR athlete or employee, or even as a former guest, I say it as a martial artist.

Remember Your Why

photo by Fernando Perrier

Ahhhh Sundays in Rio, the perfect day of relaxation--- I'm sitting under the shade of the BBQ here at Connection Rio, enjoying an espresso strength Brazilian coffee and typing away. The afternoon is passing quietly here in the CR garden, the only sounds being wind, rustling leaves, birds chirping, and squirrel sized monkeys chattering. It's the ability to be able to sit and enjoy life (and of course getting phenomenal training)  that led me to Rio in the first place. Being able to relax my mind and body since my fight has really helped me remember my "why?". If you are unsure of what I mean by my "why?" I hope I can put to words an explanation.

After a great BJJ session with Dennis Asche. Photo by
D. Asche

Fight camps are TOUGH. While it builds up to one single moment, the entire camp is a fight. You fight to survive (and win) against your training partners-who are all there to push you to the limits, you fight fatigue (mental and physical), doubts, aches and pains, your weight, temptations, sometimes with your significant other (sorry to my fiancé for being a bit 'prickish' leading up to a fight), and these are just a few of the fights you have to deal with. For those who haven't experienced this you may wonder, why? Why do this? Sometimes in the grind of a fight camp my reason why gets a bit blurry (I never lose site of it), but it's the time in between fights that my why comes clearly into focus.

It's difficult to put into words what my why is, because my why is the internal feeling I get from learning and creating new things, adapting them for myself, and being able to translate these things into physical action. Training BJJ and other martial arts, combining them for MMA, and them performing them whether in the gym or in competition is just FUN. Outside of fight camp I can open my mind and my game up and embrace my weaknesses and work on new training philosophies in a more relaxed setting that will allow me to gain a better understanding of the art behind martial arts. I still train very hard, but my mind is relaxed and playful, I let go of ego and enjoy the process. If I get subbed, tagged, or taken down I shake it off (or laugh it off depending on what crazy submission I got caught from the guys at Rio Fighters) and keep going. When I keep things playful and have fun the improvement comes automatically with it.

I have had the privilege to meet BJJ and MMA enthusiasts from all over the world. A vast majority seem to have a good grasp on their why, but every so often someone comes through who has lost sight of their why. These people put pressure, whether real or imagined, on themselves that in the end make training not enjoyable, feel like work (of the OMG I don't want to do this kind), burn themselves out, or worst of all make them feel alienated from something they once loved. We all face these challenges and everyday isn't always going to be fun or enjoyable but the important thing is to remember that it's part of the process and keep focused on our why. Personally, it's to learn above all to have fun, for you it can be something different. In fact those are usually my final thoughts - 'go out there and have fun, you're doing this because you love it not because you hate it'- I have before walking out and stepping into the cage or on the mats for competition. For me, that's that's my why.

 *****On a side note, this past week I had the privilege to go on the podcast From The Eastside With Love and talk about my time here in Brazil and discussed MMA. Please if you get a chance head over to their site and check it out. http://fteswl.com/2015/08/21/mma-fighterwrestling-coach-torryn-falcon-heffelfinger/ *****

photo provided by J. Moreno.

New Weight Class, New Challenges

photo by Deive Coutinho.

OK so I am back again with some time and most importantly motivation to sit down and write up another blog entry. I’ve been busy since my last blog entry, I put in a full fight camp and had a fight since I last sat down and wrote an entry—man come to think of it, I do a horrible job keeping this blog up to date, but hey what can I say I’m busy trying to live life. 

SO ANYWAYS  back to the topic at hand—my fight! For this fight I dropped down for the first time to 145 pounds. Not going to lie at first I was a bit apprehensive about dropping the weight. In college I spent the first few seasons cutting a lot of weight the wrong way, honestly I attribute that and and ignorance on proper nutrition to not developing as fast as I should have in my college career. When your focused on nothing but making weight and being hungry it is hard to improve technically. I have seen the same thing here in the MMA world, especially here in Brazil. There are some guys who are making tremendous weightcuts and doing it the wrong way; so when it gets to fight time they look massive and come out guns a blazing but then quickly blow their load and tire out. They gas not because they didn’t work hard, but because they taxed their bodies in such a way that they were unable recover and perform at an optimal level. 

photo by Deive Coutinho.

So with this in mind I started dieting (I normally eat fairly healthy regardless) strictly about 6 or 7 weeks out from my fight, and leaned down to about 155-157 range. From there I made sure I super hydrated and got my body used to flushing high amounts of water from my system. About a week and a half out from my fight I eliminated most all sodium from my diet, and started cutting back on my carbs. The week of weigh-ins and the fight I cut most all carbs (which causes your body to retain water) and about 2 days from weighins I drastically cut my water intake down. As a result there was really only 2 days out of a 6 week fight camp where my direct focus was on losing weight, not an entire camp devoted to it. There is some great info on making weight out there, particularly articles by John Berardi, Nate Green, and Tim Ferris. 

Now the part I did falter a bit was in gaining the weight back, I think I overate a bit on the carbs so I woke up the morning of the fight feeling bloated and my stomach was off. I went back to small meals a ton of water, and got a light workout to crack a sweat and move the food through my system. By the time I got to the arena I was feeling good.

So I got warmed up and felt good physically, but I don’t think I entered my optimal performance state mentally. That said I entered the cage feeling confident and relaxed. The fight started I went out slipped a punch and landed a nice leg kick. When my opponent responded with a kick of his own I automatically dropped in on a shot, and my opponent jumped into a guillotine. I spent the next half of the round on my feet with this guy hanging off my neck as I defended and worked to escape. I escaped and slammed my opponent to the mat, worked a guard pass and finished out the round attacking a straight arm lock and mounting him.

photo by Deive Coutinho.

In the second round I landed a couple of nice strikes and as my opponent clinched I body locked him and stepped over to mount as we hit the mat. The round was with ground and pound passing and scrambling. Even though I dominated the round with pressure and aggression, I felt out of it technically. I didn't settle into my techniques like I normally do, and I felt a bit more winded then I normally do. The judges decided there should be a third round (here in Brazil amateur MMA if 1 person wins the first 2 rounds the fight ends).

At the start of the 3rd I finally felt in my groove; my gas tank was fully there, I felt completely relaxed, and I was in the zone. I circled my opponent into the cage and unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks that were tagging him. When I saw the clear opening I shot in on a double, passed the guard, and mounted. I landed some GNP, and took high mount. I passed one of my legs over to work for a mounted triangle, my opponent defended so I took the armbar. I fully had the arm extended, but my opponent refused to tap. There was short time left and could either have rode it out or gone for the break (of the arm that is); well I over wrapped his arm and popped in my hips even more. The guys arm went past 180 and I was waiting for the snap to come when the ref stepped in to stop it, not wanting the guys arm to break. Talk about a tough and resolved opponent. 

It was a good fight and pushed me in new ways. I am happy for the win, but I am more happy for gaining more experience and learning what gaps in my game need to be addressed. This week is has been about healing up a bit, relaxing my mind and seeing what things I learned from my fight. It was nice to setback and have a change of pace, but now I am ready to get back at it and keep moving down the path!

In closing I would like to my team at Rio Fighters and my Coaches, Milton Viera, Dennis Asche, and Rogerio Miranda. All three have provided me with a wealth of knowledge that I am thankful to be able to tap into. I also would like to thank Connection Rio, who has 100% helped me to be where I am today as a martial artist--If it wasn't for CR I wouldn't be here in Brazil (www.connectionrio.com). I would also like to thank Senki Kimonos-- Cost of training gear and kimonos can be high and I am fortunate enough to have such a high quality company backing me (www.senki.com.br)

Promotion to Purple Belt

I am going to start this blog the same way I have started several unfinished drafts of my blog- stating that it has been forever since my last blog. Over the last several months I have started (or at least attempted to start) several blog entries only to leave a blank page or an unfinished document. When it comes to writing I have a real similarity to the dog Doug from the movie UP!. See, I'll start an entry with a vivid line of thought and all of the sudden "Squirrel!"  and I'm off doing something else entirely. So as this is a rainy day hopefully I can avoid getting distracted and can manage to sit long enough to get a blog finished.

The big news of this post is me getting promoted to purple belt in BJJ under Dennis Asche. I had been a blue belt for quite awhile, with my focus on training MMA and Luta Livre I just hadn't gotten a lot of time in the kimono over the last year and a half (2 maybe 3 days a week). for the last couple of months Dennis has been coming in to teach Gi class for everyone at CR nearly everyday Monday-Friday in the afternoon, so as soon as I got off the bus to Barra from training MMA at Rio Fighters I would immediately hop back on the mat for BJJ.

Last week I found out I would be testing for my belt on July 4th in the morning. That was about it, I had no real clue what would be in store for me. Well the morning of the 4th rolled around and everyone from CR and a couple of other friends in BJJ headed to Gordo's for my exam. As I stretched and got loosened up I'm not going to lie I was a bit anxious-it was a big day for me. We started out with Dennis giving me positions to demonstrate technique from. The technique portion lasted about a half-hour, but the end I was pretty sweaty from the Rio heat (and a bit of nerves) Dennis then lined everyone on the wall and then informed me that after doing 100 straight takedown entries, I was going to roll everyone at 2 minute intervals nonstop for the next hour.

I hit my 100 entries, chaining my attacks from one directly to the other. Doing this created a subconscious flow that allowed me to save time and energy. Had I shot one time, then made 2-3 steps to hit another attack I would have thrown off and started to feel tired. I finished up and immediately my hour long shark tank rolling started.

I battled from one end of the mat to the other-working to pass, sweep, defend or submit. Everyone came at me full force (which I appreciated because I wouldn't have wanted it any other way)and the higher belts took it to me to show where I was at, and the lower belts were anxious to attack and show where they were at. I would move and explode into any openings I could find and try the best I could to take the fight to whomever was in with me. It will be interesting to see some of the photos because I started smiling several times during the roll--a habit I started back in high school wrestling whenever our coaches pushed us "through the wall". It's a hard to describe euphoric feeling. Soon(ish) it was called out I had 15 minutes left, then 10, then 5, then the final 2 minutes. The last guy. One of the CR crew came to step out, but I cut him off and asked Dennis to roll, and everyone mat side erupted with cheers. My "calling" him out wasn't a disrespect thing, for me it was the biggest sign of respect I could show. He has taught me innumerable lessons both on and off the mat and I couldn't imagine anyone else I would rather have had my last roll as a blue belt with. I finished the hour session as I had started, by attacking and trying to gain the upper hand. Soon the 2 minutes were up, and I got a ton of pats on the back as we lined up. Getting called up and that purple belt tied around my waist is a hard feeling to describe, and writing about it now is bringing up a wave of emotion.

In addition to Dennis I would like to thank Rogerio Miranda and Milton Viera as well, they both have had a huge impact on my BJJ since moving to Brazil. They, just as Dennis does, push me to expand my knowledge and hone my skills everyday on the mat.

The rest of the day was spend BBQing at CR and rehydrating---over the course of my test I lost 3.5 kilos (about 7 pounds). It was a hot sunny Rio afternoon, the perfect day of jiu-jitsu in the cradle of BJJ!

Looking Back on 2 Years at CR

With some of the current CR crew down at Tropa Thai. photo by D. Asche

This past weekend marked a milestone in Nicole and I's time in Rio---two years in the Ciudade Marvelosa! For this weeks post I am going to look back and describe what it has been like to work here at Connection Rio, the world's first true BJJ hostel.

Shadow boxing after training.

First and foremost I have to talk about all the great people that have come and stayed at Connection Rio. Over 1000 juijiteiros have come down to the cradle of jiujitsu to train and experience the BJJ lifestyle with us. One thing that stands out is that there is no particular mold that BJJ practitioners fit into. We have had guests ranging from middle aged white belts with little to no experience to seasoned blackbelt competitors in their young 20's. Our BJJ hostel literally brings people together from all walks of life, and from all corners of the world. I have people I am happy to call friends in multiple countries. Here is just a quick list of only SOME of the countries where I have friends and training partners, whom I otherwise would not have met if it weren't for CR. The UK, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Malaysia, Jordan, Australia, Thailand, Finland, Germany, Chile, Columbia, Mexico, The U.S.A, Canada, Russia, Korea, Poland, and Bahrain. Not only have I had a chance to get to know these people, but I have also had the privilege to see many peoples jiujitsu grow and dreams get realized. I've heard the phrase (or something similar) many times- "I never thought I would actually be in Rio" or "I've always dreamed/wanted to come down to train". I know these phrases first hand because I myself said something similar my first time in Rio back in 2010. For me that's the greatest part of working for CR, helping people to enjoy their time in Rio.

Besides just the awesome people, let me tell you about the amazing training partners I have had living and working at a BJJ hostel. We have mats here at CR, and I have put a ton of time drilling, rolling, discussing the finer points of technique on them. I have had the "lightbulb" moment with multiple techniques from having a previously unknown detail revealed during a session on our mats. There has not been one person come through that has not been willing to kick off their shoes and step on the mat to help another guest figure out a position. With having so many people from so man
y different BJJ lineages nearly ever person can offer a different insight to training. There aren't to many places in the world where you can lay mats down under a palm tree and drill or roll with an amazing view of a mountain above you. If that isn't the definition of paradise, I don't know what is. Through CR I have trained with legends such as Ze Mario Sperry, Felipe Costa, Braga Neto, and Babalu---and that's just here on the mats of CR! I have surfed (unsuccessfully) with Coral Belt Master Silvio Behring, and toured Rio's Favela's with the elite BOPE-- there is NOWHERE else this would have happened. Not to mention I have stepped onto some of the most revered mats in the world. I've rolled at De La Riva, Carlson Gracie's, BTT, Nova Uniao, X-gym, Gracie Barra Matrix, Rio Fighters, RFT, Gordo's, and academia Strauch and this is just off the top of my head. All gyms and instructors have welcomed me and the other members of CR openly as if we had been training there since day one.

After my UD victory at MFL 4. Big thank you to my
sponsores Connection Rio and Senki Kimonos.
photo by D. Asche

Lastly I want to mention how working/living at CR has created a change in my lifestyle. We like to say Connection Rio is a BJJ Hostel, because its about more than just  accommodation. It is about embracing the BJJ Lifestyle. Time spent both on and of the mat is about enjoying life's journey and continually learning and growing on a personal level. Whether its longboarding through the city beach, swimming in the ocean, or cutting a coconut off the tree and watching the wind blowing through trees on Pedra de Gavea I have the opportunity to tune out any stress and solely focus on the present beauty of life. To be able to wake up, enjoy some fresh fruit and coffee and then work on what I love doing is such an amazing thing. Some people search their whole lives for this, and I am thankful that I am here experiencing it now. Every day here is at CR is a chance to learn something new about myself, the arte sauve, and about life---what more can a person ask for?

Be like water- Relearning the water cycle of training.

Training stand up. photo by Cristiano Justinio

There was a thunderous crack and then bright lights of fireworks fading into black. Everything seems muffled for a minute, everything feels rubbery and stuck in mud. In the distance I see a light coming towards me, bigger and bigger. Finally I'm back to reality in the cage. My sparring partner looks at me unsure of if I am going down after the headkick landed flush. I smile, clap my hands and then land a right straight down the pipe, following it up with a hook and another straight before shooting a double, lifting him off the mat, and finishing the takedown. The rest of the round is a flurry of strikes, scrambles, and working to dominate each other.  Milton yells  out we have 10 seconds left and I quickly move to take knee on belly and finish the round landing strikes.

I am fighting again on Team Nogueira TV December 4th, and I am in the middle of my training camp. Training is going well, and as you can see from the above training is hard. The week before a fight, Milton put the guys with fights through a grueling conditioning circuit after sparring, which pushes us to the brink mentally. But that's what it is all about, breaking you down and building you up again stronger. Come fight time, all the hard work is done and the fight is the easiest part  (and the funnest as well).

Post nogi mma training.

The above part is from a half finished blog from a week ago. It is one of several unfinished blog entries I have been struggling to write. I have been suffering from a MASSIVE case of writers block---scratch that, more like an complete lack of creativity and rhythm.  Unfortunately I felt like this lack of rhythm and creativity carry over to my training. While I have been working hard, always on the grind and having good sessions I have just felt in a funk. I am a huge fan of Bruce Lee, one of my favorite quotes of his is the following:

  “You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” 

See the issue I was facing was it felt like there was no water. So while I've been getting told I'm looking good and having good training sessions, I have been feeling dry. Day after day of going in and doing "good" but feeling like your just taking ass whoopings is frustrating, in fact for me it boarders on heartbreaking. I'd lost sleep, my appetite, focus and my normally joking personality over it.  Overall I've probably been a pretty miserable person to be around (sorry Nicole)

BUT I had a revelation this week. While I have been feeling dry, I've been missing things. I barely noticed that I managed to effortlessly transition to a bicep slicer off a scramble; that perfectly timed straight dart to a counter double, well it ever happened, etc. See, I was only thinking of being like water in terms of a liquid, I completely forgot that water exists both as a solid and as a gas (dropping some science on you this week). So that while I felt completely dry and lacking of fluidity, there was still water there, it may have seemed to have disappeared, it had changed states, evaporating but still ever present. With this realization, and as happens when it is really dry, it began to rain; and when it rains it pours. This weeks training I hit my stride. My transitions felt good, submissions seemed to open up out of nowhere, and I began reading things on the feet much better. The biggest thing is if something wasn't working for me, I changed my form, molding to the situation and overcoming it. I have realized even if it feels like there is no water, it is ever present, you just have to recognize and discover what state its in.