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| Drilling on the CR mats, with my new Senki Kimono. Photo by Davey Morehead. |
The sun is beginning to set here in Rio
and members of the house are beginning to trickle in. Some from the
beach, some from climbing Pedra de Gavea, and some from grabbing an
big acai from the bakery down the round. Each group is filling the
others in on the adventures and scenery they have taken in today. The
house is quite full and we currently have guests here from eight
different countries around the world. Living with such a diverse
group has made it possible to learn different styles of BJJ and
different social perspectives as well. Here at the house we share and
intermingle our food, sayings, and customs, coming away with a better
sense of the world. With the “broadening of your horizons” and
the excellent training so readily available around every corner, CR
is the perfect place to come and experience the BJJ lifestyle.
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| After a sport specific BJJ conditioning session. |
As always my training this past week
was great and normally at this point I would go back through some of
my training and recount a couple of stories. This week though I want
to focus on a bit different topic--- the BJJ lifestyle, as I see it,
here at Connection Rio. To me in a nut shell the BJJ lifestyle is
about passion, growth, and a desire to make the best possible version
of yourself. In the last 10 months here in Rio I have seen people
from all walks of life come through CR. Some are business
professionals looking for a BJJ vacation, some are seasoned
competitors looking to sharpen themselves, some are here trying
jiujitsu for the first time-starting anew. But all are here to do
something that they love and have fun doing. In the house at any
point during the day there is somebody on the mats drilling or
talking technique before the next training. It builds up a strong
community within the house, that fosters an almost selfless attitude
to spur improvement. If you have a problem with something on the mat
in a class all you have to do is ask about it when you get back to
the house and before you know it a group will be on the mat covering
the positions and trying to fix what went wrong. The passion for BJJ
and the bond formed on the mat carries over to time spent not
training as well. A community and network of friends gets created,
and when people return home these friendships will span the globe.
You going on a trip somewhere in Europe? Pop in at an academy where
one of your friends you met in Rio trains and I can almost guarantee
you will be accepted in as family. I have seen it over and over,
people with little other than BJJ in common becoming the best of
friends because of the shared passion for the art. The BJJ lifestyle
is also one of self discovery. Many people come to CR not sure what
direction they want to head in life, but through living more in the
moment and relaxing they see a path begin to get laid out in front of
them. I consider myself as one of these people. I fell in love with
the BJJ lifestyle and learned from my first trip to Rio what path I
wanted to take. I don't mean to say that you have to make BJJ your
life to live the lifestyle. I have met a lot of Brazilian Jiujitsu
enthusiasts, who may only train 2-3 days a week back home, learn to
not worry as much about the “what ifs” in the future, and enjoy
the “now” of their day to day life because of the relaxed and fun
nature of BJJ here in Rio.
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| With Ze Luiz owner of Senki Kimonos, my new sponsor. |
New Sponsorship!
I
am proud to announce that I have a new sponsor to help me on my
BJJ/MMA journey-- Senki Kimonos. With over 10 years in the business
Senki owner Ze Luiz has been offering high quality kimonos and
fightwear for affordable prices to people all over the world. All of
there products are 100% percent made in Brazil, which is always a
comfort to know that your gear was made in the birthplace of BJJ. I
met with Ze Luiz earlier this past week and he provided me with a
bundle of new training gear, 2 new lightweight gis, 2 rashguards, and
2 Senki T's. The gear fits great and I quickly put it to the training
test, which it all passed with flying colors. I am grateful and
honored to be sponsored by such a respected brand here in Brazil.
To
take a look at their great selection check out the Senki Website:
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