Learning to walk again! (Written Dec 22 2008)

Learning to walk is probably one of the most challenging things you have ever had to do. Most will not remember the time, but if you have kids you can see how hard it is for them to figure it out. Watching Thor learning to walk reminded me of Fridays and Saturdays in Va Beach when I used to stay out all night at the bars. When I would leave, I was also grabbing onto furniture and walls to keep my balance but only getting a few steps before falling. I am glad it doesn’t faze him when he falls because I know the only way he will get better is through repetitions. It still goes back to anything that you want to learn -- it won’t become ingrained into muscle memory until you get 8,500 – 10,000 repetitions.

Success in anything depends on a lot of factors (talent, genetics, environment etc…,) but one of the most important things, and something that is often overlooked, is repetition. Most individuals will look at a pro athlete and think he is what he is because of talent or genetics, but they never see the repetitions he puts in. Ask any athlete at the top of any sport and I can guarantee that they are not there without countless hours of repetitions.

Take Mixed Martial Arts. It is only in the past 5 years that you have started to see fighters that can go from every range without hesitation. In the past, most of the fighters were good at only one thing and if they were taken out of that range they would look really bad and lose. Think about the UFC fighters that can proficiently go from punching, kicking, clinch and ground; there are still only a handful who are experts at all of the ranges. Guys like George St. Pierre, BJ Penn and Anderson Silva come to mind, and while there are still only a few, the number is increasing.

If you have been following the UFC in the past 5 years you have been able to see the effect of repetitions in fighters. Fighters like Forest Griffin and Kenny Florian have become two of the UFC’s best fighters, but they didn’t start out that way. Take Kenny Florian -- he was already one of the best ground fighters in the UFC when he started. He is a BJJ Black Belt with many grappling championships under his belt but he lost 3 of his 14 fights in the UFC. If you look at his record you will notice he has not lost in the past 6 fights and he has crushed some of the top guys in his weight class. Why? Because he is now as proficient at standup and clinch as he was already on the ground. His standup was not great at the beginning of his career but you can now call it one of the best in the UFC. If you ever hear his story on what his daily routine is you will understand why he has become one of the best; he is doing the reps in the things he was weak at!

Doing reps is the only way to become better at anything. The problem with reps is it is boring so the people that can become good at something are usually the ones that can put in the boring time. Those are the times that are the hardest but most important, the times when no one is there cheering you on or telling you what to do. You know that you just have to do it. It is hard to do reps of anything unless you have a passion for it. If you have passion, boring becomes fun!

I started this subject on my blog because I am also learning to walk again. I had ACL surgery and my meniscus tendon repaired in my knee. This is the second time I have gone through this, so I knew what to expect. Having your ACL repaired is actually more pain and suffering than the actual tear. The recovery really stinks and it is a long process of boring reps. I didn’t go through physical therapy because I want to do it on the mat like I did last time. I can duplicate a lot of the movements that they were showing me in physical therapy on the mat. I get to roll too which is a great workout. It is also a great experience to grapple this way because it makes my defense so much better. I am grappling with only one leg so learning to survive without being able to move my hips in certain positions is very difficult. It is also very humbling because of how many times I have had to tap. Makes me feel like I am a beginner again. It is always like this when I injure something, I try to grapple around it. So if it is my arm that is injured I put it in my belt or if it is my back I work form the guard position so it is supported. In the 12 years I have been training, I have been only been off the mat for an extended time of two months and that was because of a security job. So if you figure that I train 2-4 times a week you can start to see the reps I am getting on the mat. If someone does the exact same program that I have done but they train 4-8 times a week then they will be as proficient as I am in 6 years.

It was unheard of for guys to get their Black Belts in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in less than 10 years but guys like BJ Penn and Lloyd Irvin broke that mold; they did it in 4 years. I personally witnessed Lloyd’s growth in BJJ and I can remember his meteoric rise through the ranks. He started roughly the same time as me and we even competed in a lot of the same events together so I got to talk to him a lot back then. When he was telling me how much he was on the mat back then I was stunned. He practically didn’t do anything but train, 2-6 hours a day, 6 days a week. He quickly became one of the best grapplers in the world in half the time it would take most guys.

Later when I joined his team, he would give me long talks about training and how reps were more important than genetics and talent. Of course I would argue with him and say that he was good because of his natural talent and genetics. Lloyd would go on to explain that when he was in the NFL, the most boring drills and patterns were in every training session, three times every day. He said that basics were being ingrained in their muscular skeleton through reps so that they could do it with their eyes closed! He took the same training methods he learned in the NFL and applied it to BJJ.

Lloyd also went on to prove me wrong with his prodigy Mike Fowler who came to Lloyd with only one goal, to become the best at submission grappling. I remember the first time I met Mike and watched him on the mat. He was getting tapped by everyone in the class. He wasn’t anything special, but Lloyd had told me about this kid he had on a program and I needed to watch him because this kid would do whatever Lloyd asked him to do. Mike would come in early and stay late getting the reps that Lloyd told him to do. Mike’s skills grew quickly and in less than 5 years he has become one of the best grapplers in the world.

I know that not everyone can train all day long. That is why I tell all my competitors and fighters that they need to be honest with themselves -- how much can you train and how much are you willing to train? If you can’t put in the time then you should set your goals for longer term. This is hard for a lot of fighters and grapplers to swallow and they still want to try and push the time without doing the reps. Like I have said before, there are no short cuts or magic pills, so get out there and start getting the reps.

Evolution of Wrestling:)

Doing live TV interviews are always a drag, especially if you have a limited vocabulary like mine, but I decided to help a former student out. Since none of his coaches could make the interview, he thought of me and asked if I would talk about wrestling for his club. He went on to tell me that wrestling is very similar to what we do at Evolve. I spent a couple of hours at their practice last Friday and was really impressed. The training was very similar to what we do with our kids and I couldn't help but compare the two.

I am a huge fan of wrestling and in my mind it is the hardest of all scholastic sports. The practices are usually two hours long or longer and I believe that if we made any of our prisoners do this type of workout, the human rights groups would be shouting that it is cruel and unusual punishment. Wrestling teaches self-reliance, self-confidence, and life skills; utilizing the power of positive goals, without making excuses for failure. There is no one else on the mat but you and your opponent.

Evolve's kids' program only has long training sessions on Saturday's, and those are open only to the kids in the Master's Club. The rest of the classes are only one-hour long. Despite this, I feel that our program teaches the kids so many more skills that will give them a head start in life. These life skills include discipline, self-control, patience, confidence and courage. I am not saying that wrestling does not provide these things, but I do believe that what we teach focuses more on this type of character development.


One of the main things I have noticed missing in wrestling is the respect factor, which I personally think is one of the first building blocks of life skills. Most of the kids I met at the practice , except for the one who had trained with me, had no idea how to greet or talk to an adult properly. Teaching that you should respect your elders and show it through your communication skills is something that is often overlooked in today's society.

As most of you already know, I do Personal Security work for some of the wealthiest people in the world, and their social settings are always a bit intimidating. I believe that my ability to make the client feel comfortable is the main reason why I am able to thrive in these settings. I am still being requested even though my price is one of the highest in the security business. While I use specialized security skills in order to make my client's feel safe and secure, I also use interpersonal skills on a daily basis. These communication skills allow my clients to feel like they can relax around me. I have learned that communicating respect is very important in society.

Self-defense is another thing that I really think makes our program stand out, even against other Martial Arts academies in the area. One of the most common things I hear is " my son earned his Black Belt at _____ Academy and I want him to really learn how to defend himself so I brought him to Evolve" . Self-Defense is one of the main priorities in all of the programs we offer, but we also stress conflict resolution, personal responsibility and avoidance of confrontation. If a kid or adult has to step into the world of physical confrontation I want them to have the tools necessary to come out on top. This is very different from most other martial arts schools, where punching the face will get you disqualified or punished.

At Evolve, there is a belt system that acknowledges kids for the work they put in. This teaches goal setting and rewards you for the goals you reach. In wrestling the only rewards are in the tournaments. This can be a harsh reality because some kids, no matter how hard or how long they train, will never win at tournaments. Does this mean they are not winners? Of course not. That is why at Evolve it is a hard path to Black Belt, but it is one that is attainable for everyone who can pass the intro class. The definition of success is "the completion of anything intended." In other words, success is finishing what you planned to do.

The wrestling program and our Young Adults program were very similar, but observing it did make me feel a lot better about what we do for our kids. I truly believe, and have proven through my former students, that we try to give positive building blocks for life skills. I have been teaching in the DC area for about twelve years and since that time I have had kids go on to become some of what society would say are some of the most successful occupations- Lawyers, Doctors, Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Military Special Forces Soldiers etc… In order to become any of these things, you have to have good life skills. Did Evolve Academy have a part in any of this? I would like to think so !

Religion and Politics

Two things you should never talk about. That is what I have always been told and I do keep it out of my Academy, but since this is my blog, I guess I can express some views. I will not say who I voted for or what my religion is – I don’t think it is important. What is important is what kind of person you are. Some of my closest friends are on the other side of the aisle with their party and their religious beliefs. My mom is Buddhist and my dad is Baptist, but they are both great individuals. That is a gift I was given from my parents at an early age – they did not try to force me to believe in their religion, but they let me experience everything and let me decide. My sister became Catholic and my brother Protestant… I will let you guess what I am:)

I only bring religion up because I have had people question me on the Evolve name. Does that mean I believe in Evolution and not Intelligent Design? No, it has nothing to do with the argument. I believe everything advances, like in the automobile industry –

The first vehicle to move under its own power for which there is a record was designed by Nicholas Joseph Cugnot and constructed by M. Brezin in 1769. A replica of this vehicle is on display at the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, in Paris. I believe that the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D. C. also has a large-scale model. A second unit was built in 1770 which weighed 8000 pounds and had a top speed of 2 miles per hour and on the cobble stone streets of Paris this was probably as fast as anyone wanted to go. Now we drive around at 65 mph with everything at our fingertips.

I came up with the name thinking about how I have seen the growth and advances in Martial Arts. Much like the automobile industry, we have made great advances – we have Evolved.

But maybe I should have used one of these names-
advance, derive, disclose, educe, elaborate, emerge, enlarge, excogitate, expand, get, grow, increase, mature, obtain, open, result, ripen, unfold

Then no one would have confused it with a Religious argument that I never even cared about or paid any attention to. I think Evolve Academy sounds way cooler than Advance Academy. I think religion should be separated from Martial Arts but some see it differently than me, and I respect their beliefs. One of the MMA clothing companies that sponsors local fights is named “JESUS DIDN’T TAP”. Check out their site, and make sure your speakers are turned up:)
https://www.nosubmit.com:40009/myoffice/storeonline/default.aspx?orgId=13972&category=2581

I was thinking about that clothing company and I think Jesus would do Jiu Jitsu. Jiu Jitsu means “The Gentle Art”. I think Jesus would avoid confrontations, but if he had to use force, I think he would try to do it without hurting the individual. Also the kimono is very similar to the pictures of the robe Jesus wore. I also find it sort of ironic that we have a move called the crucifix. I am sure you guys can think of more reasons why this art fits Jesus.

Now about another subject I should not be talking about. Am I a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent or something else? I will let you guess, but I will tell you that I voted. I think voting is really the only time for my voice to be heard. It is the foundation for our democracy that many have fought and died for. Many people around the world have no say in who governs them, but we do. Even though it is not simply the popular vote that decides the election, it is still important cause it represents the voice of America. The day after the votes were tallied was a memorable one.

There are a lot of times in my lifetime that I will always remember. Some are more vivid than others, things like the hostages being released in 1981 from Iran or the wall coming down in Berlin, things like the Shuttle tragedy and 9/11 are forever etched in my memory. November 5, 2008 is one of those days -- that was the 1st day for an African American president. It won’t matter where I am in 20 years, but the day will always be a vivid memory. The excitement and the joy that was on display was something I will never forget.
For American history, this is a turning point. There will always be racism in America, but the majority of Americans have just proven that race does not matter. This is one reason I say that even if you voted for McCain or someone else you can still feel proud that America has moved forward in some ways. Only about 44 years ago, people were separated by the color of their skin. Our Declaration of Independence was written in 1776 and it said “all men are created equal” but that was not true until the 1960’s.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Institutionalized racial segregation was ended as an official practice by the efforts of such civil rights activists as Clarence Mitchell, Jr., Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., working during the period from the end of World War II through the passage of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 supported by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Many of their efforts were acts of non-violent civil disobedience aimed at disrupting the enforcement of racial segregation rules and laws, such as refusing to give up a seat in the black part of the bus to a white person (Rosa Parks), or holding sit-ins at all-white diners.
By 1968, all forms of segregation had been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and by 1970, support for formal legal segregation had dissolved. Formal racial discrimination was illegal in school systems, businesses, the American military, other civil services and the government. Separate bathrooms, water fountains and schools all disappeared and the civil rights movement had the public's support.
So if you are a Republican, Libertarian or another party don’t be a hater:) You should still feel proud of America and remember what John McCain said in his concession speech-
“I urge all Americans ... I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.”

Since a lot of people are very sensitive about religion and politics, I am sure I hurt someone’s feelings, but it was not my intention.

It’s been a long journey, but it has just begun!

Watching Zach Davis's highlight reel made me smile, and it wasn't because of his singing abilities.J It made me smile because I have not seen on video all clipped together how far Zach has come. If you haven't seen it, check it out- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgjmWgXoLz8. Andres Meraz did a great job on it.
I forget because I see Zach every day. It’s almost like when you see your baby every day; it is hard for you to see his growth. It is only after you look at pictures or old videos that you can you see it.
Zach has been training with me for about 5 years, and as most of the old timers know he wanted to be an MMA fighter from day one. This was before the explosion in the popularity of MMA, basically before the money was in the sport. He wanted to do it even when it wasn't cool. He was so serious about the goal that in 2005 he put a big tattoo that says Vale Tudo down the side of his leg, which means anything goes or free fighting in Portuguese, which is now recognized as MMA here in America.
By putting the tattoo on his leg, he made a public commitment about his goal. There are some goals that you keep secret because you know that if you tell people they will tell you that there is no way for you to achieve them or give you some other negative opinions so you just keep it to yourself. Whenever you go public with your goals, it is no longer a maybe; it turns into a must. You are now 100% committed to it. Zach's tattoo publicly committed him to his goal of becoming a MMA Fighter.
The first time I saw the tattoo I thought he was crazy. Why would anyone who had so much going for him want to be an MMA fighter? Zach at the time was a college student with a bright future but he didn't care about anything but MMA. Explaining to Zach that it was a very difficult journey and there wasn't much reward when you got there didn't deter him. (Of course that is now changing with MMA so popular a fighter can actually make a good living.) He has put everything in his life on hold or cut it completely off to try to reach his goal.
MMA is not something that can be learned in a year or even two. There are so many facets to MMA that training your body for everything takes years. This is what is so hard to explain to new students. If they have never wrestled, boxed or done some type of Martial Arts it will usually take several years of serious hard training. If they have done something else you can usually speed up that process. Most new students (including Zach) don't want to listen and sometimes end up getting emotionally hurt when they discover the truth. We are all used to instant gratification and in combat arts there are no short cuts. You have to train and get your body reacting off instinct, and that takes time. In MMA there are so many variables that getting your body to react instinctually is very difficult.
Zach learned this in his first MMA fight. He had been training boxing, so his standup was better than his opponent. His opponent saw this and quickly took the fight to the ground where he put Zach in a triangle in the first minute of the first round. Some students would have quit after losing like that but Zach looked at it differently. Rather than see it as losing, he looked at it as a learning experience and it just fueled him to be a better fighter and train harder. Since then, Zach has become a professional MMA Fighter and is one of the most popular fighters on the East coast. This weekend Zach travels to Chicago to try out for the UFC Fighter show. He got close the last time; they flew him out to be an alternate. If you see him this week ask him if you can check out that tattoo and then wish him well.
What does the future hold for Zach? I cannot say but after watching his highlight reel I know he has already reached his first goal of becoming a Vale Tudo / MMA Fighter!

Throw Away That GI!

If you have been following the newsletter, you already know about the new program starting at Evolve Academy. The No-Gi Submission Grappling program has not even started and the interest is already overwhelming. I have been fighting the change for a long time, but everything Evolves. In nature, things either Evolve or becomes extinct. I don’t think Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will ever become extinct but I do see Submission Grappling becoming more popular. Here are some basic reasons why-

1. If you tell a new student the Gi vs No-Gi debate he will most likely want to do No-Gi, especially if he tries both classes. The Gi class starts off by putting on that heavy potato sack. Then you do the warm ups, stretching, conditioning, basic body positioning drills, takedowns or self-defense grappling and then you go into the ground techniques, all while wearing that uncomfortable potato sack.
The No-Gi class starts off by putting on a t-shirt or rash guard and shorts and then doing the same basic class. So you can see why the submission grappling could be more appealing if you are brand new to the sport.

2. A wrestler will automatically want to train in submission grappling because he can become proficient in a short time. He will not have to go through as much of a learning curve because this style relates better to the mat time they have already accumulated.

3. The days of gis in MMA went out a long time ago, so most MMA guys will want to train without the gi because it also relates to what they do better. Even though the technical aspects of the gi transfer well in the cage, it is now possible to become a world class MMA guy without ever putting on the gi.

4. No-Gi training is a lot faster pace and the practitioner’s athletic ability becomes a bigger factor. A physically gifted athlete will be able learn and pull off the moves faster because he does not have to be as technical.

4. For the spectator, the No-Gi is more exciting to watch because the grapplers cannot stall as much as they can in the Gi.

6. There is prize money in the sport. Tournaments are now offering money to the winners, so submission grapplers can actually become pro grapplers. The money is not a lot at this time, but neither was it in MMA when that started.

So the addition of the Submission Grappling program only makes sense. I will always think that training in a gi will make you more technical. It allows you to slow the game down and with the gi you have so many more grips to control the opponent with. A smaller, less physically gifted athlete can equal the playing field in a gi if he is more technical. As far as the debate about realistic training for the street, you can learn things with gi and no-gi. Some instructors will say that attackers wear cloths that you can use, much like the way you use the gi. Others will say it won’t work unless it is a jacket and unless it is winter time you are in trouble. This is nonsense because both types of training will give you valuable skills that can easily be converted to self-defense for the street. It is the instructor’s job to train and show the students how.

As most of you know, I have been training 6 weeks without the gi for the No-Gi Pan Ams. Most of my grappling career has been spent in a gi and the 6 weeks was the longest I have ever been without it. The picture of the fingers is what happens when you put the gi back on. Since I could not use grips my callouses have disappeared. When I put the gi back on last week it was a little unfamiliar, my guard passes where harder and the things I had been getting away with were being shut down. I had to really go back to thinking and strategizing my moves more, but I had a blast. I also had a blast the 6 weeks without the gi. You will have to decide for yourself which you think is better and the one that you like more.

After reading this if you are wondering which one I like better, next time you see me pull to the side and I will tell you.

The $606.00 Rash Guard

The $606 rash guard.

$257 train Ticket

$39 hotel room

$117 entrance fee

$120 cab ride

$73 food

Priceless?

What was the The Priceless Moment? That is what I was thinking about Sunday morning when I was looking at my wallet. The Mastercard commercial always has a priceless moment. As you probably already know, I am a procrastinator . I always wait till the last second to make a decision. In some parts of my life it has served me well because there have been times when waiting until the last second has opened up a lot more opportunities. Most of the time it has worked against me; this would be another one of those times. I knew a few days before that no one had signed up for my division at the No Gi Pan Ams, so I sent out an email to the Federation of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and had them move me to the Open weight class. I figured that I would get a match in the Open because there were other Black Belts in my age group and they were all heavier. I was wrong -- nobody signed up. So when they posted the brackets, I sent them another email to move me down an age group but Saturday morning when I looked at the brackets, I saw that it had not been done.

Usually this would not be a big deal because most tournaments want the Black Belts to compete so they will go out of their way to make a match happen. I learned Saturday morning that this was not going to happen even with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend Leo Dalla talking to the director of the tournament. His reply was that if he started with me he would have to do it for everyone. I was upset but he was right. I run the Mission Submission tournaments and our most time-consuming process is creating the brackets, so I can understand and actually admire them for sticking to their guns.

The rest of the time was spent explaining to everyone why I was not competing. One of my old friends asked why I have not just signed up for the Adult division to begin with. He said he knew I could hang with them. I went on to explain the major difference between the old man division and adults – 5 Minutes! In the adult divisions the matches are 10 minutes vs 5 minutes for my division. I trained for 6 weeks 2 hours a day 4 days a week. For multiple 10-minute matches I would have to double the training, which is almost impossible for me. Whenever I train for competition, my business and family suffer. I become very selfish with my time and the training is about me not my students. My wife also gets the short end because I become very aggressive and ornery all the time. In the past that didn't effect us because she knew what to expect when I was training but it is different now with Thor.

So back to the Priceless moment- I thought about what part of the weekend was the most enlightening. It wasn't the Renzo Gracie Academy, even though that did give me a lot of new ideas which my students will see implemented in the next couple of weeks. It wasn't the No Gi matches even though there were a lot of exciting ones, especially the Evolve students. I would have to say the priceless moment would be the time I got to spend with Leo Dalla. We have known each other for about 11 years but have never really gotten to hang out for more than a few hours at a time. This weekend was different. Dalla has been in the sport since he was a kid and is one of the legends of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, so listening to his stories about all the heroes of our sport was cool. He is also a school owner with a lot of good ideas on how to run his program. But the most knowledge I gained from him was when he was talking about his kids. Dalla has 3 kids, with his daughter being born one month prior to my son. He talked about all the trials and tribulations of fatherhood and how he balanced all of it. It was neat to hear his reasons for what he does and it really helped me look at things differently. Even though I spent $600 and didn't get to compete it was well worth it, it was a priceless weekend.

Combat Charms

Being in the Marine Corps held for me some of the fondest memories of my life. I learned and did things that I never thought possible. Though it was not always fun in the sun, the positive memories definitely outweighed the negative memories. When I signed up I did not have much of a future and since the rest of my family was part of the military it was only natural for me to follow. Some of my fellow soldiers signed up for many reasons but some forgot what the Marine Corps main’s purpose was. When we were called to deploy to a hostile environment, it was amazing to see how many soldiers would panic and try to come up with all kinds of reasons why we shouldn’t deploy. We even had a soldier’s wife come down to talk to our Commanding Officer the morning we were about to deploy. He did the politically correct thing and took time to try to calm her down and explain to her that combat was our main job and every Marine knows and trains for that. She didn’t was to hear it and ran screaming and crying in front of our bus and laid down in front of the tire refusing to move until her husband was taken off the bus.
I was like every other Marine that was ready to deploy into the unknown -- scared! Yeah, we tried to act like we weren’t and some hid it better than others but you could see it in the mannerism of everyone you talked to that they were all nervous or scared about all the unknown scenarios that could happen. Questions like “Are we ready and prepared for this? Have we trained enough? How will I react if everything hits the fan?”

One of the things that always helped me ease my mind and nerves was my combat charm. It was my Kbar knife that I only brought out when I was going to deploy. Days before I would spend time sharpening it and cleaning it while preparing my mind for the unknown. I would tell myself that if everything else fails I will always have my Kbar. I would keep it on my side the whole time, even sleeping with it. And when we got back I would put it away until the next deployment. It seems silly to think about it now but it really helped me ease my fears and not worry about the unknown.

When I started to compete again in the Martial Arts those same feelings that I got before I deployed in the Corps would come up, so I created some charms that helped me get through it. For my Thai boxing matches I looked at my Thai shorts as my charm. I only wore them during my fights and I never cleaned them after. I left all the sweat and blood stains on the shorts that each fight would leave. You can imagine what they started to smell like after a couple of years but I believed that they held special powers. The shorts were a gift from my original instructor and he had used them in his fights.

When I started competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu I made my charm my belt. Each belt I ever wore became my symbol of strength and power. I have never washed any of my belts but every belt looks like it has been washed a thousand times. Through hours of sweat and training the belts would change colors and fray. It helped me compete because it eased the unknown, when I looked at the belt it would calm my nerves because I knew I had trained hard for whatever was about to happen.

It was a nerve racking Pan Ams last year because I was 5 pounds over the day before my matches. The gi I was going to wear was a double weave and if you have ever seen my belt it is a belt that is made for a heavyweight. I have to rap my belt around three times to tie it. Frank Wiot (Evolve Academy’s Manager), who flew out with me, came up with a great suggestion. He got me to buy a lighter gi at the event and a lighter belt. The idea saved me 2 pounds which meant I only had to lose 3 but what I forgot till the next day was that I would be fighting without my charm. I ended up winning without it but I definitely was not at the mental state I would have been if I had my real belt.
I felt better about my charm superstitions after doing a little research on the subject. I found that most athletes use charms or rituals to help them perform better. Do you ever wonder how the length of NBA shorts changed? In order for Michael Jordan to wear his lucky blue North Carolina shorts under his Bulls uniform, he had to wear longer shorts. The power of one superstition changed the style of the uniform.
Even though it is not life and death, I still look at grappling competitions as combat. I have to prepare to go to war, so on October 4th I am going to look to my Combat Charm to keep me calm and help me perform my best.