the seminar, party at poulin`s, seminar day two, weekend over.

Yesterday Pat & Hammer came up from Ottawa for our spring seminar. Pat changed up the format and we focused on gameplanning, the art of "learning" jiu jitsu and long term development. The first hour, Hammer focused on a few "go to" takedowns with options depending on how your opponent reacts. This system was followed for the remainder of the day. We basically designed a flow chart so that we could gain a better understanding of what`s happening during a match, which leads to understanding brazilian jiu jitsu.

Many people will tell you they understand jiu jitsu, but truth behind that statement lies behind hours of practice, drilling technique and building muscle memory. The end result is knowing where you are, what you`re looking for and the ability to react on the fly.

Last night, we headed over to Guy`s house to watch UFC 130. We were a good bunch, lots of shits and giggles were had by all. Naturally, I left before the real shenanigans started. I logged onto facebook earlier tonight and saw Guy in fine form in one of his trademark suits. The pictures that followed showed Guy in that suit minus his pants...followed by pictures of Guy, in his suit, with no pants, flat on his back with people tearing off his tighty whities. Good grief Charlie Brown.

Today was day 2 of the weekend seminar. Like a true gong show, I ended up being a few minutes late. (I called Steve to let him know and apologized to both Pat & Hammer). We drilled some more, learned a few more techniques and then had some fun.

Hammer is competing at the World Championships in Long Beach California next week (at his brown belt level) so Pat decided to have us shark tank him so he could get some training in a few days before the flight to the west coast. One by one, we slapped hands and got to rolling. (no time limit, roll until submission)

Did I mention I was a gong show today? I got down with Matt and within 30 seconds, I had gotten into his half guard, had my arm stuffed, was swept and he finished me off with an armbar. I didn`t get a chance to try anything, but let`s be real, I`m a white belt who`s been training since August 2009. Hammer is a world class brown belt who has wins over some of the biggest names in jiu jitsu. (Ryan Hall, Miguel Torres and has competed in championship matches against world class black belts like JT Torres etc)So yeah...I wasn`t actually planning to submit him with a flying triangle choke, I just wanted to last more than 30 seconds. Hammer, if you`re reading this, I want my rematch...in about 10 years.

At the end of the day, Pat & Hammer once again delivered on a weekend seminar that will surely help improve the game of anyone who attended. If you didn`t attend (assuming you`re a training partner of mine), be sure to attend the next one. These are hours on the mat that you just shouldn`t miss.

Back to the club tomorrow to pick up where we left off. A bit better than I was on Friday.

Pat Cooligan Seminar this weekend!

I really should be in bed sleeping, but sleep hasn't been a good friend to me lately. I just can't get my wake/sleep cycle to cooperate with me.

At any rate, in roughly 10 hours, I'll be stretching and warming up my joints for another Pat Cooligan seminar at the club. (my 5th since joining back in August 2009)

On a related note, tomorrow night is UFC 130 at Guy's place. I'll report back on both fronts in the coming days.

Stay tuned!!

random update on me

Hello friends!

I`ve taken a bit of flack for slacking on updating the blog. The first quarter of 2011 saw me traveling more for work and recouperating from an illness left me feeling pretty beat up. With that said, I`m back and feeling better than I have in a long time. Enough about that...

Life at the club has been good. Classes are always packed and membership continues to grow. My boys are enjoying their classes and improving with every passing week. Noël is itching to move up to the kids program. I`d hoped to put that off until the fall for a miriad of reasons but it looks like he`ll make the jump sooner than later. Watching Ben run drills is a riot. His "pirate face" on the mat is becoming legendary.

Next week we have our head instructor, Pat Cooligan coming in for a two day seminar. If you`re new to the club, you need to be sure to attend. Pat brings a wealth of knowledge. I`m really looking forward to it.

Talk soon!
Y.

this is funny...

Ricardo Almeida

a good video on where the big dog is now and thoughts on retiring from mma for a second time.

Ricardo Almeida: Life After MMA from Veazey Street Productions on Vimeo.