Hello fellow Mat Rats,
It’s been a while since our last check in. I’ve been one arm short, rendering me unable to type till now. But on the bright side, however, I have some exciting things to fill you in on.
Surgery / Recovery
It’s been almost three weeks since my surgery,and I’m all caught up on Game of Thrones. The operation and immediate aftermath were surprisingly pain-free! Adjusting to life with one arm, however, has been rather frustrating, especially when it comes to teaching. My first day back on the mat, I tried to teach something that proved too complicated for a simple verbal explanation. At one point, the frustration had me so desperate that I tried doing a solo demonstration on a very unstable medicine ball. Nothing bad came of it, but then I looked over and Anita was giving me a death-stare of disapproval. I survived, and made adjustments to my lesson plans, teaching simplified techniques and giving myself more time to explain while my awesome students demonstrated.
The first two weeks post-surgery were spent entirely in the sling. We often forget just how much rest the body needs;I was getting up to 10 hours of sleep per night post-op. Thankfully, my students and fellow instructors at Guardian stepped up and covered my classes, allowing me to lay down and protect my incision. That first week, to people's surprise, I wasn’t watching Jiu Jitsu and was trying to keep my mind elsewhere. It’s easy to fall into a downward emotional spiral thinking of what could have been or how we could have changed things. I’m so thankful to have so much support from my family, friends, students, coaches, and teammates.
Things I’ve survived: The medicine ball fiasco. Dozens of slaps on the shoulder. Multiple Misha Attacks. A slip on my stairs. Almost falling over in a chair. A near car collision...
It’s great to be alive!
Promotions
The excitement that I felt for this event exceeded academic graduations, my own promotions, and maybe even my own competitions! The stars were aligned the day of the ceremony, and we had 6 black belts on the mat (7 by day’s end).
Eduardo Fraga, Head instructor at Ralph Gracie Berkeley, 5th degree black belt, and my instructor from white to black belt, taught an amazing seminar that tactfully crammed enough material into one hour to keep our minds busy for the next month. Eduardo drew an enormous crowd; the mats were so packed that we had to have students group up into threes in order to prevent collisions. The moves Eduardo shared with us were a balance of flashy, straightforward, and useful (click here for link to video).
The promotions themselves started off with a bang. Guardian founder Ben Kovacs received his black belt making him Caleb Khan’s/Journeyman Grappler’s/Guardian’s first black belt. Eduardo had to help me tie the belt which I think was symbolic of my own and now Ben’s linage. Even though Ben isn’t an active competitor, he contributed so much to the world of martial arts by taking a risk, leaving his cushy job and opening Guardian Gym. Ben also defied the status quo of martial arts gyms by creating a free kids program. I couldn’t think of a more worthy person to receive a black belt, and I’m honored to be the one giving it to him. After Ben had his new belt tied on, he became the one in charge of belt tying. All the same, Eduardo had to help him tie on most of the new promotee’s belts. Even though one may be a black belt, there are still so many new things to learn. Talk about not wasting time on that lesson.
After 9 blue belts and one purple belt were promoted, the promotions moved onto a very special group of gentlemen. This trio has carried Guardian in so many ways, competitively, communally, and they for sure embody the spirit of what Guardian and martial arts is all about. Dave Aakhus, Sacha Feinman, and Doug Ancey all have been at purple belt a little more than two years, and collectively have accomplished so much. Matches at Fight 2 Win (Fight of the Night awards and a win) two trips to the Nogi Worlds finals, and one Nogi World Championship title. Beyond competition these guys are awesome and I’m lucky to have them as friends and teammates.
In the long run belts really don’t matter, it’s true, though it’s still special to award my students. And, really, it’s not just those who got belted that are awarded. Training Jiu Jitsu takes a community, and the promotions are a celebration of the team evolving as a whole.
Pan-Americans
The Pan American Jiu Jitsu championships (also known as Pan-Ams) is one of the biggest Jiu Jitsu events of the year, featuring thousands of competitors. The first ever Pan-Ams was held in 1996 in Hawaii, but is now held every year at UC Irvine. Each division draws top competitors from around the world.
This year marked Anita Shammees third trip to Irvine to compete, and she brought it to her division. Anita’s fight began weeks before the tournament, when she decided to compete in the featherweight division, which is the weight class below what she usually fights at. It may seem desperate to be up until three in the morning, running and sweating off the final pounds, but in fact, Anita carefully planned out her entire weight cut. Every morsel of food, ounce of water drank, energy exerted, and hour slept was carefully planned. Anita made weight with breathing room (or in her case room to drink), and went onto the mats of the IBJJF Pan-Ams to fight to her next battles.
Anita’s first two opponents were overwhelmed by her heavy, pressure passing style. Her opponent’s attempts to survive against her mount forced them to make a desperate escape, which led to them giving up their backs. Anita controlled the back mount flawlessly in both matches, and finished her first opponent by a vicious bow and arrow choke. The second opponent tapped to Anita’s Mata Leão / rear naked choke, belly down with Anita on top (much like how Nate Diaz finished Conor McGregor). Both of Anita’s wins put her in the quarter-finals, one match away from the first medal round. Within the first moments of the match, Anita’s opponent pulled guard. Anita was well balanced and poised on top, and stifled her opponents attempts to sweep her. In Jiu Jitsu, however, one moment can lead to a match ending, and in this case Anita was caught with a tight armbar. Anita respectfully shook her opponent’s hand and walked off the mat. She was disappointed much as every woman in her division was, with the exception of one, the eventual champion, who was the one Anita lost to.
You have so much to be thankful for when you walk off the mat healthy. There is the courage to sign up for a tournament, a community which supports you in your crazy pajama or no pajama grappling endeavours, and, most importantly, the health and physical ability to train. Anita walks away with all of the above, plus the added bonus of a game plan to improve and get ready for the World Championships in June. I’m excited to work with her towards her competitive goals, and maybe, one day, I’ll talk her into sharing her weight cutting secret techniques with all of the mat rats out there.
Upcoming Events
Month of April - Spar-a-ton 500 Challenge
April 7th - Nathan Mendelson Fundraiser Seminar (Guardian Gym)
May 5th - King of the Palace Quintet Tournament (Palace of the Fine Arts)
June 8th - BJJTOUR Sacramento (Gi & Nogi)
