Training Gi, Rolling Nogi,and Hard Thai Boxing

It's been a long hot week here in Rio de Janiero. The temperatures have consistently been in the mid 80's (roughly 30C), and the sun has been throwing down some intense rays. With the heat a post training agua de coco or acai serves as a well deserved treat and recovery aid. It never gets cold here but as we head into summer I am getting reminded of what Brazilian summer feels like, and it's a good thing we have a pool in the front yard to help keep cool throughout the day! We just finished out the weekend here at CR with a massive BBQ. Three different cuts of beef, burgers, two types of sausages, and a table full of sauces and salads, has left the entire house in a bit of a food coma...everyone is looking forward to working of all this food with a great week of training.

Connection Rio BBQ.

Week in Training

With the return to a more normal schedule after traveling last week I put a lot of time into training this week. I had at least two training sessions a day Monday-Thursday, with a long training session on both Friday and Saturday.

After wrestling training.

In BJJ I had several hard drill sessions with Dennis. The focus for the last few weeks of drilling has been attacks from top, with a heavy focus on transitions from one submission to the next with little to no hesitation. When we first started drilling I felt clunky and slow, using only a couple of submissions and not keeping great positioning. This week though I really started to notice an improvement. I felt better, more relaxed, and a greater sense of purpose in my movements. I also opened up my submission game, being more aware of available chokes or locks. A few of the guys in the house were also training for the Brazilian Nogi Championships this weekend so several times throughout the week we rolled nogi. We broke into groups, some grappling on mats by the pool and others on the mats in the house. With training so much in the gi lately it felt great to take off the gi and get some hard submission grappling in. Nogi favors my wrestling a bit more and it was nice to open my up my offense a bit. You hear a lot of people that for nogi or MMA that training in a kimono is worthless, but I have to disagree. After so much gi training, a more methodical pace focusing on technique instead of athleticism, I felt a noticeable jump in my nogi technique. I recognized openings, stayed calmer when in bad positions, and had an overall higher confidence in my game. Milton Viera was on the mats a lot this week for MMA training and after the training sessions he would world or discuss/show anaconda choke attacks. A new world of ways to attack the anaconda has been opened up to me. He showed transitions to the anaconda from bottom halfguard, from a double underhook pass, and even transitioning to the anaconda when a guy has your back. You can be in almost any positioning and somewhere somehow there is an opening for the attack. Once you realize some of the different ways to set it up, you can really notice the openings for the submission. A few times this week I was able to throw a quick attack and work the adaconda.

Photo of Alex and I rolling at the farm.

I put a lot of work into my muay thai training this week as well. One of the sessions was an intense drill session fallowed by “body hardening” drills. One person would throw specified strikes on their partner down the length of the mat and back. We went through the drill with leg kicks, front push kicks and round house kicks to the body (among other things). The drills were set to the pace of your partner. Some guys went lighter, others (including my partner) did not. Having a 5'3” 160 pound ball of muscle throw fast hard kicks on your legs and body is not most fun I've had (couldn't walk right for a day or two), but it toughens the body and mind. Later in the week I went in early to get a little extra training with one of the guys, Daniel. Daniel has won championships in muay thai and kickboxing in both Brazil and Europe. He took a lot of time to work one on one with me on correcting my both my kick defense and offense. I have noticed a steady improvement in my muay thai, but I again noticed a jump in my game after the work I did with him. Again it was great having Milton in training with us, he showed some great MT combos for MMA, that was good to land both powerful shots and set up the takedown.

I enjoy writing this blog every week, because I get a chance to sit down and review my training from the previous seven days. I really helps remind me of how many great friends, training partners, and coaches I have down here Rio. I am a believer that the best investment you can make is in yourself. That's one of the main reasons Nicole and I moved down here. With surrounding myself with such great people and putting in a ton of hard work I can feel my investment paying off in dividends.

View of the evening sky in Nova Friburgo