Meeting John Danaher

One of the upsides of now training at the Renzo Gracie Academy in Holmdel is that I get to drop in at the Manhattan school at no extra cost. My work schedule allowed me to take the 1pm class today, which was taught by John Danaher. For those who don't know, John is a highly sought after BJJ instructor, and coaches many MMA greats like Georges St. Pierre and has a unique background. He came to American from New Zealand to get his Masters degree in philosophy from Columbia University. This gives him a really unique way of explaining techniques and understanding BJJ.

John explained the takedowns and techniques we did in class very clearly, but looked around as the class did them as opposed to walking around. However, this doesn't mean he wasn't carefully observing us; after class ended, I came over and spoke to him and he pointed out a couple of things he noticed I was doing. He asked a little bit about myself, and I explained that I was one of Rolles' students from Holmdel, but worked in the city. We discussed what I did at work, and I explained that I'm a program coordinator at Fordham Law School. It was then that I saw that John and I see things in a similar light. We got in depth about how my boss helped write the constitutional amendment for Presidential succession, and how brilliant you have to be to understand the law at that level. While he referenced my boss's likely "encyclopedic knowledge" we agreed that at the highest level is where the application, understanding, and dissemination of that knowledge is what separates the elite from just the smart.

And that's where I began speaking about my journey in jiu jitsu. I explained my rut to him; that I hadn't won a gi match since December 2011, and he immediately asked if I felt any turning points. I thought for a second and then explained that I am starting to learn how to set up moves instead of forcing them. Throughout 2012, I tried to force moves in competition instead of looking for openings. Now with every pass, sweep, and submission I learn, I try and learn it in context; what to look for, how to set it up, and what to watch out for.

I also mentioned how I am no longer intimidated by my opponents. How I used to obsessively check the registration list, how I would freak out if I saw a big name like Alliance/Gracie Barra/CheckMat, etc. on the list and immediately defeat myself. He made the point that you are "fighting a person, not their reputation".

He thanked me for speaking with him and said he looked forward to seeing me at future classes. It was reassuring to know that the way I approach jiu jitsu now has been used effectively by someone else and isn't as overly analytic as others have led me to believe. Too bad his private lessons run at 150/hour!

NYC is Full of Food

Seriously! Everywhere I turn there is a food truck or food cart. And most of the time, it's cheap! Five bucks for a gyro or chicken over rice, one dollar for a giant pretzel (don't even like those), and a dollar for a cup of coffee (run and tell that, Starbucks!). I passed a waffle cart today- A WAFFLE CART! You can put ice cream and fruit and other delicious things on it. I've seen carts selling tacos and dumplings and cupcakes OH MY! I don't buy prepared food that often because I think more often than not it's a waste of money. However, I've gotten stuck in the trap of forgetting to pack dinner and have either not been eating dinner or have been buying food after work. Neither of these things are good for your body, especially if you're training 1-3 hours.

Outside of what I learn directly at work, I've realized I need to plan ahead at all times. The night before, I need to pack my gi, make sure my lunch AND dinner are ready and packed in the fridge, make sure there is someone to take me and pick me up at the train station (it's three dollars a day to park there in addition to the 400 bucks per month I need to pay to take the train!) get up on time, and make the train so I am on time to work. I am basically packing my entire day into my backpack. I guess this is what being a real person and a commuter in the working world is like!

In terms of actual training today, I still find that I'm getting caught in things that other people do consistently to me. For example, there is one person who always gets me in a collar choke from half guard on top. It takes a little while because I resist, but more often than not I end up tapping. One weekend, I need to sit down and write out what I keep getting caught in and work on countering it in class. I think I'm going to start bringing a notebook to class or write it out on the train home to see what I need to work on. This would be good material to bring to Shaolin's open mat on Sundays, assuming I can make it.