Recently, my guys were drilling back attacks and back defense in class. There is a new kid that has been training with us for a month: he’s 16, about 6ft tall 230-240 lbs, trained at an affiliate school for an undetermined amount of time, and has been training with his buddies in his garage for a year or two. He …
Recognition
My son entered his senior year of high school recently. And if you know me, I brag about his prowess on the gridiron. He was chosen a captain of the football team, a returning starter, and had the highest amount of tackles of any returning player. However he has received no recognition in the press or social media, he wasn’t …
Jiu Jitsu changes lives
Below is a post from Gracie Wesley Chapel’s newest blue belt: “Warning! This is a very sappy post and uncharacteristic of me. If you have talk to me for more than 5 minutes, you know the Army was my life. Back when I was healthy and in shape. After my last deployment to Afghanistan followed by a medical retirement, I …
The journey has only just begun.
9/3/17 – I stood among my brothers Eric Callueng, Jeff Morris, and Sonny Parlin and received my BJJ Black Belt from our longtime instructor Rob Kahn in front of close friends and family. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Since I received it everyone’s been asking me, “What’s it feel like?” I know that question well …
Busy weekend!!!
I love my Gracie Tampa family!!! We kicked it off by winning the Youth AND Adult Team Champion trophies at Newbreed. Our students had great outings and displayed beautiful Jiu Jitsu. I was proud to stand up there with my brothers from Gracie St Pete, Gracie Tampa South, Gracie Bradenton, Gracie Palm Harbor, and Gracie Spring Hill. It was an …
Running a gym has been a humbling experience
October 1st will be our 1 year anniversary for Gracie Wesley Chapel. Opening up a BJJ gym has been a dream of mine for quite some time. Teaching jiu jitsu is such a rewarding profession. There is no other sense of accomplishment like watching one of my students win their division in competition, overcome adversity in training, and most of …
Jiu Jitsu is about YOUR journey, not anyone else’s
Damn, it’s been a minute since my last blog posting. Things have been very busy at the GDub, and that’s a good thing! Our lil ninjas represented well at the the Kids & Teens Grappling Grand Prix. I am so proud of them. Shout out to Luis Mata for putting on a well-run event. We held our 1st Promotion Ceremony/Student …
What a Weekend!!!!!!!
This weekend was a busy one! We traveled up to Orlando on Friday for weigh ins and dinner at Hash House a-go-go. If you haven’t been there, the food is awesome! I had 6 kids compete at Naga the following day and all of them won their divisions(and a samurai sword). They did amazing!!! Zachary(nogi and gi) and Andrew(nogi) won …
Congrats Mr & Mrs Maldonado
This past Sunday I didn’t watch the Super Bowl, don’t get it twisted, I love football. I attended the wedding of my good friends Gabe and Cherie instead. Wouldn’t have missed it for the world. They are two of the best people I have met through my BJJ journey. Just want to wish them nothing but happiness because they deserve …
Blessed
Again, I struggle to keep up with my blog. I wish I had a better excuse than, “I forgot.” Writer’s block….HOWBOUTDAT?!?! lol Things couldn’t be better at the G-Dub. My brutha Josh Hayden just came down to do a leg lock seminar at the school. It was an awesome seminar. The Go-Lace sequence was badass! Got some good training in(as …
