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Training with martial arts legends in NY (Conclusion)

Click HERE for Part 1HERE for Part 2HERE for Part 3…and HERE for Part 4

So it’s the last no-gi class of our trip at the world-famous Renzo Gracie Academy in Manhattan. After a grueling warmup of jogging and calisthenics (which we did AFTER we jogged the 12 blocks to class from our apartment in Times Square!), some free grappling, some drilling and about a gallon of water, it’s the final round of free grappling.

At this point, Chase has already bowed out of class and Derek has hurt his knee and is sitting on the side of the mat with it wrapped. I’m contemplating my infamous “possum” defense for this next round, hoping that my opponent will treat me like a bear in the wild–throw me down, paw at me to make sure I’m dead, and then saunter off into the grappling forest in search of salmon. But that is not to be the case.

My final partner is…you guessed it…a strong wrestler. Ahhh! I HATE those guys!! (Not as people, of course, just as training partners…especially when I’m exhausted and lazy!) And to make things worse, this guy is wearing man-panties, aka “manties”!

Now there are grappling/vale tudo shorts…and then there are “manties”.  The former are what fighters like Tyson Griffin, GSP, Shogun or Anderson Silva wear. They are quite acceptable…

The latter are what Shonie Carter and Pride-era Wandy would wear, and they are usually ridiculous…especially when worn by pasty white guys in loose fitting sweat-soaked t-shirts!

Unless you’re in the actual cage, there is no excuse for subjecting your training partners to your gross sweaty thighs unnecessarily.

So my ancient “anti-wrestlers-in-manties” chi power kicks in and we start grappling. My partner is bigger and stronger than me, but I have a little more experience than him (apart from wrestling!) and since we start from sitting I don’t really have to worry about getting taken down very much.

I’m doing pretty good against him and winning the position battle. At one point I hop up to one knee, looking to pass guard using a tip that Silver Fox had given me after class that morning. My opponent rolls to his back in order to try to pull me into his guard. I stand up quickly, controlling both of his feet and initiate what Derek would later describe as a “beautiful guard pass that looked as smooth as something a brown or black belt would be seen doing”…

…and then it happens.

Now, what you have to understand is that at this point after nearly 90 mins of no-gi grappling class, the mat looks like one big giant blue Slip ‘n Slide. It’s covered in dude-sweat and even with the fans on full-blast it stays pretty slick.

So, as I go to pass his legs to my left, planting my right foot far outside and looking to cut back in and land in reverse kesa or possibly side control, the oil-slick mat has a different plan!

My foot goes right out from under me, and not in an “oops, I slipped a little” kind of way, but rather in a “cartoon character steps on banana peel” kind of way. I go near-horizontal and land perfectly flat on my back…

…with my left arm landing right between manties’ legs and reaching up towards his chest!

Of course if you’re not a grappler, that previous sentence probably reads like something from a sleazy romance novel. But those of you who do jiujitsu know EXACTLY what happened next!

My somewhat dumbfounded opponent looks down and realizes that I have just gift-wrapped an armbar and presented it to him in splendid fashion!

“DANGIT!!” I laugh as I begin tapping before he even fully sinks it in, “I can’t believe I just did that!”

My instructor, Derek, is sitting about 4 feet away watching the entire thing and is cracking up. “JM, did you just HAND HIM your arm?! HAHAAHHAA!” He looks at my opponent and says, “Wow…how many people can say that an armbar LITERALLY fell into their lap??” They both get a good laugh out of it just as the round comes to an end. To be fair, my opponent really is a nice guy and we shake hands and chuckle about it as we head to grab some water.

And with that, our last no-gi class at RGA comes to a ridiculous and amusing end!

We head back to the apartment, with Derek pantomiming and providing a reenactment for Chase, who had missed it.

When we get back, we pack up and get ready to head out in the morning. We’re all exhausted and we have one more class to go before our flight back to Charlotte.

RGA – Day 4

We get up at 6:45am–at least two of us do. Like I did on Tuesday, Chase decides that sleeping in is what his body needs more than another class! Plus, this last class is a gi class and Chase hates the gi (most high-school wrestlers do, of course!). So Sensei and I grab our gis and head out for our final class.

Zed is teaching this class and I must say it’s a welcome change of pace! Zed shakes hands and bro-hugs each person individually, welcoming them and saying good morning. I tell him I’m visiting for the week and he’s very warm and welcoming.

There are mostly blue belts in this class, many of whom just recently got promoted. The warmup is light and is followed by some free-drilling, which I enjoy. Basically, we take turns with our partner repping any technique we want. It gives me a chance to rep a few techniques on my 2nd degree black belt list (Clarification: at LMA we have two martial arts programs, one that is mixed curriculum consisting of stand-up, takedowns/grappling, self defense and traditional martial arts, which I am a black belt and an instructor in–and one that is purely jiujitsu, which I am a blue belt in).So I spend time repping some familiar techniques and allowing my body to get as much rest as possible before we start rolling.

Zed shows a chain of techniques from on bottom when in side control and ending up with a reverse triangle/kimura. It’s simple and flows well and I really like it. We rep it a couple of times and then it’s time to roll.

This is the first class of the entire trip where I get multiple submissions on almost everyone I roll with. Of course a couple of them are new blue belts…but it still feels nice to be on the giving end for a change! Sleeve-choke, Ezekiel, Baseball choke…I’m hitting a number of submissions…though I’m still getting my guard passed more than I’d like.

We finish class and I thank Zed again as we head out. Derek and I are both hobbling along like the cast of Coccoon (pre-swimming pool!), but we have a sense of satisfaction. We’ve not only survived nearly a week of intense training, but we both did fairly well. He looked sharp against the brown belts he rolled with and I picked up a number of tips, habits and techniques that I will begin to incorporate into my game immediately.

We get back to the apartment, do a final load of laundry, pack up and check out. It’s off to catch the express shuttle back to Laguardia and home to Charlotte.

After a mad dash to the shuttle, a delayed-and-then-cancelled flight, a re-booked flight with a 3 hr layover in D.C. and a stop at LMA to drop Chase off and say hi to the students at the evening black belt prep class, I finally crawl into bed around 11pm.

It’s been an amazing, incredible and physically intense week…

…and I’d do it again in a heartbeat if I had the chance!

Thanks for following along with my grappling adventure, Dojo readers!

I want to send out a BIG THANKS to Renzo, his instructors, his students, Silver Fox, Derek, Chase, Jodi, my fellow LMA students, my friends and my family for making it all possible!

I didn’t think I’d be able to do this trip when I had to have my hand surgery and all the expenses involved, but many of you guys came through, buying artwork and even flat-out donating to my trip! I am truly grateful and I want to specifically thank the following people for their financial support of my trip:

Michael, Frank, Lynn & Lynda, Michael, Chuck, Mark & Wendy, Chris & Lauren, Aunt Brenda, Rick & Amanda, Ann & Chris and Mom & Dad.

Thank you all and I hope this is the first of many trips up to RGA on my long road to BJJ black belt!

Blessings from the Dojo,

JM

Posted by on July 28, 2011.

Categories: Arts and Culture, Blog, Martial Arts

One Response

  1. […] been an amazing experience, just as last year’s was, and I’m truly thankful to have been able to make it again this […]

    by Disciple Dojo – JMSmith.org » My Renzo Gracie Academy trip 2012 (Conclusion) on Jul 11, 2012 at 6:12 pm

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