D,

So I can honestly say today has been the best so far. It’s started with the usually coffee with Mach’s(Maha’s) dad. Celina had went earlier to train in Tokyo with Roxanne so it was only Joachim and myself. So we ventured off again for some food. After eating we were planning on training.

So we got back and figured we’d relax for awhile, check email, and maybe rest. Well since Ibaraki is so quiet and the gym is closed on Mondays it was real relaxing. Since I don’t have a tv in my room to distract me I just did some stretching, and made some calls. I don’t really get this kind of alone time back home.

Well 11am rolled around pretty quick and Joachim felt like training, so we did. We got some good rounds in again today. I’m not going into any details but I learned a lot of great things. At some points I couldn’t help but think how lucky I am to be here. Sounds strange but it often occured while I was getting punched in the face. Some might hate the fact that they have to go round after round with one of the best fighters in the world but what more could I ask for. I’m getting to learn what works, and getting the reinforcement on what doesn’t first hand with a fist in my face. Joachim even held mitts for me after and gave me priceless tips to fight his style. With his help I got much better each round.

After training we went to the coin laundry to wash some clothes. We then went next door and got some cakes. They were just the right size with just enough sugar. While the clothes were washing we found an Udon shop for lunch. On the way I got to practice some japan-lish. It didn’t go so well cuz the old lady thought I wanted to go to the train station. It went like this – Sumimasen, Resturauntu wa doko desu ka? I thought it was pretty good, but she practically walked me to the ticket machine to catch a train. Maybe she just wanted me to leave Ibaraki. hahaha.

After eating we went back, and dried the clothes. For the next hour we had some cool conversations about philosophy, politics, life, training, fighting, the MMA industry, and I got notes on a detailed weight lifting routine. Joachim then went to the train station to pick up Celina, and I headed home.

Ibaraki is a pretty flat place with very few landmarks to use for direction. So walking home at night was quite an adventure. I really only had to walk maybe on 5 or 6 blocks, but everything looked the same, and from a different perspective very different. My mind kinda played tricks on me telling me to turn back, and at that moment I saw the railroad tracks I’ve been crossing the last few days. So I walked on, and thought well the railroad must have multiple crossing points. Right when I was gonna turn back I looked up and saw the Mach Dojo sign 5 feet in front of me. I was glad I made it.

Joachim, and Celina arrived shortly after. They both got massages from Akira’s dad that use to work on a lot of K-1 fighters. Both of them look really good for their upcoming bouts. A lot of their daily routines remind me of home. After that I pretty much just ate one more time, took my suppliments, and got ready for bed.

Starting this morning I first woke up at 5:30am, and then rolled around til about 7:30am. From then til about 9am I was writing emails, jotting down notes, video taping my room, and outlining some workouts for when I get home. Little did I know that Joachim had been up from even earlier. If we had known we would of probably gone for a jog. Once we were up we started looking for a coffee shop. Mach’s father, and brother misunderstood our question and made us some coffee. I have to say it was really damn good.

Then the real quest began. We went in search of breakfast. Unlike Tokyo, Ibaraki doesn’t have a ramen/udon shop on every corner. We walked around for almost 1 hour. It wasn’t that bad since we got to really check things out, but at this point we were pretty hungry. We walked up to a Sushi Resturaunt, and realized that all of the eateries only open at 11am, and we couldn’t wait another 30min so we ate breakfast at 7-11. 7-11 here in Japan has far better food.

I had Chicken Kara-age, and bought some natto to eat with my rice. Natto is fermented soy beans that has many health benefits, and gives good energy. Unfortunately it’s slimey, and smells bad. I think I grossed Joachim and Celina out a bit. I told them they probably wouldn’t like it but they tried it first. Joachim said “It looks like something I crapped out”, as he looked away.

After eating breakfast we went back to the Dojo, and then trained. The three of us basically did a Jiu-Jitsu marathon workout (If you train at FTCC you know what that means). Sean also held mitts for Celina since she is fighting soon. The training went well. I felt a little jet lagged, but felt much better after a hot shower.

After that we went to take some photos of Joachim with his Tokyo Five gear in a traditional Japanese setting for his sponsor. We came back and then headed to lunch. Mach’s wife got us a table at a resturaunt that he frequents before his fights. Since he cuts 18kg he eats a 9 piece sashimi plate, and a large salad with a little miso dressing. That’s exactly what we ordered. It was perfect, and at the sametime we got to experience what Mach goes through when he gets ready to fight.

Then it was off to the grocery store. We got cases of water, fruit, yogurt, and a bunch of house hold things we needed. We got back around 6:45pm. I used the internet, and watched some highlights on my phone with Mach’s dad for about an hour. I also heard a good quote indirectly from Mach’s dad from Sean. He said “if Aoki was my son, i would beat him”. I beleive its in regards to Aoki’s behavior.

Joachim, and I then went to 7-11 for some hot lemon vitamin C drinks. On the way there we got to discuss Bibiano, about life, and about coming up with a plan to get me a fight. It all ended with us saying “let’s train MMA tomorrow!”. Now I’m off to get some sleep for the awesomeness that will happen tomorrow.

Good night!

3/13 – arrived in NRT airport after flying for 12 hours. It took me a while to get through immigration, and customs. I was them met outside by a tall Australian fellow by the name of Sean Few. Both of us where worried about how we’d meet up since we had never met before. Sure enough, he picked me out of the crowd, and we started running for our train. We had to time it right or we’d be waiting for 30 minutes at the next stop. So while running he mentioned that he looked up my picture on facebook in order to recognize me. Thank god for that or we might have never connected. He also mentioned that he’s the striking coach for Miyata (K-1) fighter.

Well we eventually did make it on to the train, and then misses another at a transfer down the line. Now if you ever experienced public transportation you how offsetting it can be. Long story short we got to where we needed to be only 15 min late. We then hopped into the van and headed Mach (pronounced Ma-Ha) Dojo.

As soon as we got out we where greated by Mach’s wife, father, and friend. Then from a distance I saw a light when a door opened. In the doorway was Joachim, and his girl friend Celina. Celina is also an MMA fighter that is here to fight in Jewels on 3/19/10. It was good to see Joachim. He’s looking like himself and still really f’n strong at 65kg. A few weeks ago we exchanged emails about dieting, and increasing fiber. He said after only 3 days he dropped a lot of weight and got shreaded up, not loosing any strength.

Celine was then getting a message, and Joachim and I started horsing around. He showed me some very good “Top Secret” techniques from the clinch, and started describing his training methods. It really inspired me, and made feel so validated on making this trip. Joachim is a timeless individual. No matter if today, or 500 years ago he’d be the same person. It’s great too, when you see a friend that you haven’t seen over a year, but it feels like no time has passed. Joachim is the truest Champion I have ever met, regardless if he has a belt or not.

I’ll post something new tomorrow. Sorry for any grammar mistakes. I’m just jotting stuff down.

Shoyoroll All-Island Championship
Guam 2009

As I'm sitting in the Narita Airport during a nine hour lay over on my way back home I'm going to write this blog on my iPhone while the memories are fresh in my mind, and with hopes that it'll help me NOT forget any part of it. There are so many ways to write this, but I'm not a professional journalist so I think that the best way is from the heart. So sorry if it seems scattered, and has a bunch of run-on, or incomplete sentences. I want to start by thanking the Spike 22 boys, the Carlson Gracie Team, Wayne, Char, Uncle Frank, Danielle, Roman, and Shoyoroll of course.

THE MISSION

This trip to me was everything Jiu-Jitsu has to offer. I got to meet great people and get to know others better. I feel like it recharged my soul. I don't expect everyone to get this but it wasn't about wins, losses, giving, and taking, but about the experience, and doing things for the love. I have to say that this has been one of the most memorable trips of my life.

From when Bear first hit me up to go I just couldn't refuse, and in fact the offer came to me when I needed it most in my life. I just needed to be excited about something again. On top of going to Guam, I really wanted to go back to Japan even if it was just for a lay over. I initially wanted to try and extend my lay over to visit friends at AACC but there isn't always enough time to do everything we want, and plus the days I spent in Guam provided more than enough enjoyment.

I have to admit that even though the trip had a lot of work, like reffin' 8 hours, then having a super fight (Jiu-Jitsu match) which I lost, and teaching classes, I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. Not only because it was fun, but because it does a lot for jiu-jitsu on Guam, and I want to give back to Jiu-jitsu for offering so much to me. Plus, because Shoyoroll has had my back whether competing in small tournaments, winning World Championships, fighting in Dream, or most importantly when I hit rock bottom sitting in my underwear with a bottle of Jack, in a New Jersey hotel room making death threats to Sim Go over the phone after he won the '06 ADCC Trials, but that's another story.

Well, this was the latest of many adventures with my good friend Johnny Ramirez (also the fucker that I had to compete against). We first met when I was Blue Belt at the '05 ADCC through John Ouano, and it seems like we've been stuck around each other ever since. Well after the tournament was over, we got to kick back and enjoy the island a lot more.

THE TRAINING

While I was having a blast at Melchor's Spike 22 in Tumon, with Mike, Joey, Justin Cruz, Baby Joe, Eli, Jesse Taitino, and the rest of the beasts over there, Johnny was teaching at the Carlson Gracie Team Academy hosted by Gabe. They have a lot of the tournament stand outs like Cameron (the dude is 16, had 15 matches, 4 different div., and won the quickest sub award!), Beaner, Skyylar, Al, John Tuck, John, Miguel, Dianna, Mike, and plenty more to mention (but like I said I'm typing on an iPhone, gimme a break).

Gabe's team has great talent, but most importantly a great energy between it's members. These guys are so close, and I think that's the biggest part of their success. Most of them are under 20 and remind me why I still do this. The young guys are the future of our art, and I really look forward to the day I read about their exploits on websites, and hopefully one day see them on the cover of a magazine.

Now back to Spike 22. The only way I can describe these guys is they're F'n down. If you wanna know what a real fighter looks like just open that steel door above the parking garage, next to the gun club, and that's all you'll see with the sound of heavy gun fire in the background. They train hard both technically, and physically.

I first got exposed to them sometime late last year around Sept, or Oct. Baby Joe, and The Shocker were just passing through the bay, and Justin decided to stay for a few weeks. Man, this guy's enthusiasm about training, and fighting is what really motivated me for my last fight in Nov '08. Just having him around made me wanna work just as hard. Being around him, Baby Joe, Jesse T, and Melchor now has the same exact effect it did a year ago. Mix this with the inspiration from Gabe's team, and you can imagine how drivin' I feel right now. I can't waste it!

THE FAMILIES

One of the most beautiful things about Guam are the families. Family is one of the most important things to me, and so when I travel even if I'm not with my own, I crave to be around others. Eli was nice enough to invite me up to his place to watch the UFC, and I got to see how close the different generations of his family are, and I was really impressed as three generations all cheered together for BJ Penn to beat Diego Sanchez. I couldn't tell if it was Eli's sisters, Eli, or myself that screamed like a little girl when BJ knocked Diego down in the openning moments of the fight (it was Eli, we all know how excited those Peurto Ricans get!)

So after that I got to go to Wayne, and Char's baby shower. They are due pretty soon, and I'm sure that their beautiful baby girl is gonna grow up perfect with the family I saw there. I'll start with Willard's side. I can see why he's such a good guy, with a role model like his dad. I only got to meet him once, and it left quite an impression. It's good to know that people like him still exist, you can just tell he's a stand up guy when you shake his hand. According to Wayne if you get out of line you can count on a big slap to the face, and heavy low kick combo from the veteran Kyokushin Black Belt. He's known to run out in front of cars that speed down his block to yell at the driver "What's wrong with you? Don't you know there are kids playing on this street!" Now, if that's not admirable I don't know what is. On top of that when Wayne took me to his father's home, Wayne's beautiful step mom taught me about local plants, and gave me the chance to try things like local bananas, young coconut, the best coconut juice ever, and something called beeter nut (might be a misspelling or wrong name, sorry) that tasted like bitter dirt, but gave me a decent buzz. I had to try it twice until I got the effect, but respectfully asked to spit it out. To be honest that was one of the best parts.

Now, on to Char(sounds like Shar), and her mom. I just want to add that pregnant women are probably the one thing I admire most, but never want to be. It's so amazing to see the glow they have even up to moments before delivery. (That's it, not during delivery. I'd rather get punched in the face for 15 min before seeing that again. Hahaha) Well, onto her mom. She seems like a really fun person. She's a great dancer, and can rock the hell out of a skirt! She kinda reminds me of my Auntie Brownie. I wish them the best.

THE FRIENDS

Since Bear knew I didn't know anyone in Guam, he had is friend Danielle give me a call to show me around a bit, and introduce me to a few good people. Through her I met Shane, Howard, and Roman from Fokai. It was funny cuz she happened to be Wayne's cuzzo, and Howard is my friend Chris's cuz too, but this happens a lot in GU. Well long story short she's kinda like the embassador of Guam, and knows all the chill spots with the more laid back crowd. It's funny cuz trying to meet up with her and the guys one night is how I learned to navigate around the island using K Mart, and the ITC building as my main landmarks. The first night they took me to Bully's, and on the last night we chilled at Casa. Both places had live music, and artists playing cover songs. We tried to make plans to go surfing. She rides a longboard, the guys stand up paddle board, and Roman also DK bodyboards, but due to time constraints it never happened. Well, I guess it gives me more to look forward to next time. I think I'll rent a SUP when I get home.

THE LAST DAY

These days always weigh heavy on my heart. The first thing I did that morning was go for a 20min swim at the beach infront of our hotel. I wasn't sure if I was gonna get to surf or bb this trip, but it was torture to not get in the water once. I actually went to pick up a rock that was really a sea cucumber, and freaked out. I think the Japanese tourists got a big laugh out of that. Then I jammed to Spike for the last day of training. Justin is fighting Imanari this weekend so I've been trying to do my best impression while sparring with him. Good luck by the way Justin! Then Migs from Carlson's Team came by and rolled with Wayne, Mike, Eli, and myself. This was a big goal of our trip to get the locals to train together regularly, and I think it was a big deal for Miguel to come by.
We then headed to the Fokai shop to get some souveniers, and luckily saw Roman before leaving. Thanks for the gifts Roman!

BOAT BASIN

Wayne, and Gabe planned for us to lap the island on our last day. So we all met at Boat Basin. I got to paddle out with Migs, and Mike. This really made my trip. It was a small choppy day but I was still pretty nervous. Both the rocks, and reef are sharp. Plus, it was pretty shallow. I almost pussed out but I had to do it. We paddled out through the channel, and decided to surf the break on the right. It wasn't as heavy as I thought but I still didn't want to let loosing some skin ruin my day so I just tried to work the shoulder. It might have been small but I was still stoked. After catching a wave, I started to paddle back out, and felt the reef about 1-2 feet below me. I never paddled back out so quick in my life. I just thought "don't drag your nuts, or face on the reef". The guys on the beach were getting a little restless so we just stayed in for maybe only 40 min.

THE LAP

After that, all the guys were there, and we headed south. We stopped at a look out by Mt. Lam Lam, and another one by Umantic ( I know I'm misspelling it, sorry). We saw the towers, took pictures with the caribou, and saw Magellan's landing. We also passed Howard's property, Bear Rock, Turtle Rock, and saw the man made pools that use ocean water. We wanted to eat at Pirates Cove but it was closed. Instead we just ate dried mango, pickled papaya, and drank King Kar Iced Tea while enjoying each others company. I had a great time!

FAREWELL

The trip around the island kinda took longer than we thought, so I didn't get to say the goodbyes I wanted to. I think it's for the best because I have every intention to see everybody soon. It looks like maybe February, but definitely during this coming summer. Until then I'm sure I'll think about Guam daily, and keep it close to my heart.

Shoot,
BC

Over the last few months I’ve been going through one of the hardest times of my life, and regardless of who I’d spoken with I never felt content with the advice or approval of which I received. All of the events that occurred are ones that I knew were very possible and somewhat anticipated. It all started with me initially having a fight in Dream 12, it being cancelled, getting offered another fight in Deep on 12 days noticed, going through contract issues, training for the Jiu-Jitsu World Championships, then stopping when getting offered another fight in Dream 12 on 10 days notice (really 5 because I’d have to leave for Japan early). After the offer came I trained my butt off for 2 days, and realized I wasn’t at the level I wanted to be at, turned down the fight, and ended up with nothing. This was an extremely manic period, and I get stressed just thinking about it. Granted it sucked, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I still wouldn’t change it for anything, because this chain of events made me sit back and ask myself what I really want. I want to be happy, and fighting makes me happy. It’s not winning that matters, but being in the moment both physically and mentally. I gotta get back to that, and back to being myself.

First, I had to be honest with myself and identify what went wrong. Sure the cards that were dealt to me sucked, and I could go on and on about how the world is unfair. But the truth is I could have made better decisions along the way. Short notice or not, I honestly now in clear conscience believe that I should have, and could have taken that fight and won. But I let myself down by not training for MMA the whole time. Secondly, I have to admit my own fear to myself. I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to fight as hard for them as I wanted to, and I have a personal fear of letting others down. Third, only after admitting my fear can I overcome it. Even if I decide to compete in just jiu-jitsu or grappling I always have to keep my striking sharp. This will sound selfish, but I have to start fighting for myself again. I can’t allow other people’s expectations affect me. Fourth, I have to do everything possible to avoid making the same mistakes again.

Regardless of whatever curve balls are thrown at me in the future I need to be prepared.

These quotes come to mind when reflecting back on the past few months, and hopefully they will help lead me to a happy future.

“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”- William Shakespeare Hamlet

“We have nothing to fear but fear itself”- Franklin D. Roosevelt

D

I think I’ll pick up where I left off. Well it was pretty fun and self gratifying to win the PanAms under those conditions, but I guess it only made me a little more frustrated. I started to feel even more resentment that guys that didn’t win their purple belt division still got promoted to Brown Belt. Later that year I also went to the annual promotion event where I still got passes over, and watched even more people get promoted. This drove me almost insane.

I never admitted this before but a few weeks later while rolling I was in a potentially dangerous position for my knee and out of complete frustration i popped my own LCL. Til this day I don’t know why I did it but I did. I think it was an act of self distruction because somehow I hated myself for either not doing enough, or for possibly not leaving. But looking back this one act lead me in a lot of ways to where I am. But in all honesty I should have shown better self control and not given into anger.

Well this injury time out gave me some time to think and collect my thoughts. At the same time I had to develope a completely new part of my game, my half guard. Plus, my main training partner at the time was Chris Cariaso and I had to help him get ready to fight Andrew Villadarez. This got me in pretty decent shape and back into MMA training which also helped take my mind off of my recent short comings in BJJ. Then the phone rang and Todd Middendorp of Cage Combat asked if FnF had a 135 pound fighter that would fight in 2 weeks against Will Nerbonne, a fighter that had a KO win over high level grappler/wrestler David Yee. My knee was still injured, but in typical fashion I said “f-yeah”. It was my opportunity again to show my capabilty. So I landed a high kick, and choked my opponent unconscious in about 2 min. Two days later on Feburary 19th, 2007 I was awarded my Brown Belt.

I’ll return with Brown to Black soon!