DirtyWhiteGi.com

For those of you that do follow my blog and are unaware of it, I’ve moved it over to it’s own host now and it can be found at the simple:

http://dirtywhitegi.com OR

http://www.dirtywhitegi.com

Thank you to all those that keep reading.

Connection Rio Afternoon Training Highlight

This is a little highlight showing some of the drills and exercises covered in the afternoon Jiu Jitsu class with Dennis Asche (aka Connection Rio) at the Gordo Jiu Jitsu Academy.

ALL the drills that Dennis has showed me have helped to greatly improve my game and if you ever have the chance to stay at the Connection Rio HQ or train at Gordo Jiu Jitsu then make sure to attend AT LEAST one of the afternoon classes. Generally it was mainly the gringos from the Connection Rio house coming down to train, but before I left alot of the Brasilians that had the time were starting to come down too and enjoyed the classes.

In the next post I’ll go into a bit of detail explaining some of the drills and exercises that you’ll see in the video.

Update

As stated in my previous post, I’ve been a bit busy so haven’t been able to update as much lately. Started work at a new place, still on a temporary contract but at least got some $$ coming in to save for my next trip to Brasil (aiming to go back there next year).

Training everyday as usual. I plan on fighting in the next fight show here, which is coming up in early July. I got A LOT of things I really want to work on, but otherwise I’m feeling good and already starting to step up the intensity in training.

Also been trying to work on moving this blog to it’s own domain name and starting up some other websites. But I’m a total no0b and have no real idea where to start, so have been trying to read a lot of source material and get my head around it all. If anyone knows any good websites with tutorials on how to move a WordPress blog to a host account etc. then please point me in the right direction!

Also I’ve been working on a short highlight video which is almost finished and will hopefully be posted up tomorrow.

Poor shins

I’ve been a bit busy, and a bit lazy, with training, life and new job but I’ll post a better update tomorrow.

My shins and foot are still a bit sore from my fight in Tamworth a couple weeks ago. They’re not as bad as they’ve been after some other fights but will still take a week or two before I’ll be kicking good again.

Those are thumbprint impressions on the swelling of my shin

Gordo Jiu Jitsu fighters on In The Guard

Several fighters from Gordo Jiu Jitsu have been interviewed from the guys over at ITG (In The Guard). Check out their interviews (most in Portuguese but some feature english subtitles).

Eduardo Pachu’s interview, talking about his training for an upcoming fight in Singapore at Martial Combat:
Eduardo’s interview here

Diego Braga’s interview, showing some of his training before his fight in the Top Fighters Santa Cruz event and talking about his plans for 2010:
Diego’s interview here

Pics taken during a MMA/vale tudo class. In the pics you can see Rafael dos Anjos, Diego Braga, Eduardo Pachu and Antonio Braga Neto at work at the Gordo Jiu Jitsu Academy:
Gordo Jiu Jitsu/Gracie Fusion training pics here

Tamworth & fight photos

Saw these “smoke stack” looking things on the way to Tamworth which looked quite weird out in the middle of the country side.
There was a sign just before passing them saying something like they were releasing ‘water vapour’ … or basically what looked like clouds. I just thought it was something odd to see.

The fights were held in the Tamworth Town Hall which had a nice space. And as you can see the cage has six sides… my first time fighting in a Sextagon… I just had to use that word
 

Some of the better pics from the fight
  

Throwing punches, dodging punches.
  

End of fight and the decision. Which was a majority draw. Still it’s better than a lose and I was happy with that.
  

Doing my best impersonation of chocolate.

Had breakfast at a nice little cafe in some small town we passed on the way back to Sydney. One of my favourite things when travelling is sampling foods from local bakeries and cafes when passing through small towns in the country side.
 

After thoughts on Tamworth and the country side:
It’s nice! It’s funny because coming from a relatively small city myself I’ve encountered people with their stereotypes of what the place would be like then being surprised once they got there.
Which is exactly how I was when I arrived. I thought it would be more “country” (ie cowboy boots and hats everywhere and more dust). But it’s a nice quaint little town with that peaceful chill vibe to it. Would of loved to stay an extra day or two to chill and tour around but we had a flight to catch.

After thoughs on the fight:
It was a good one seeing as I only got a few days notice on it. I decided to give it a go anyways using the pretext “you only live once,” and was a bit nervous but as we got closer to the fight my confidence grew and I tried to keep the mentality that it was just another “hard spar” and that whatever happens I’ve been through alot worse before.
The guy I fought was really young but pretty good, I wasn’t phased by any of the shots he threw (we both agreed after the fight that it was nice fighitng someone about the same size for once).

Most of the fight I’d throw a punch combo/kick then clinch and we’d end up on the fence where I’d gofor throws or a takedown while he tried to throw knees. The knees did nothing at all but I guess it looked like he was more active in the clinch.
The fence was nice to lean them up on especially if you want to catch your breath again, and it made it easier to get a takedown. Which the ref kept reminding me it was a “muay thai” fight not MMA, but hell it was there so I just went for them lol.

My opponent and I had a good chat after the fight and I felt alot of mutual respect between us. Even during the fight there was that respect. Like on one occaision when I pushed him up against the fence for a clinch my head accidently glanced his and I automatically asked “You ok bro?” which he replied “Yes” and we continued fighting, then later on he did the same thing and asked if I was ok.
It’s funny how you can fight a guy and be good mates after it all and I’d like to think it was only something those select few who have fought would know.

After thoughts on the trip:
I love travelling as a team and listen to the banter that goes on between team mates and camaraderie. It helps keep you relaxed pre fight and it’s good to know you have people in your corner you can trust.
After we left Tamworth we hit Sydney and Yum Cha for lunch then walked around a shopping mall a bit before heading back to the airport and spending a  couple hours in the Qantas Club. Where you get free food, drinks and internet access… score! If I was a frequent traveller I’d look into joining the Qantas Club, definitely worth it.

Overall this fight was a good experience as it gave me an idea of what it would be like to fight in a cage and how I could use that to my advantage in a MMA fight. I still have yet to upload the video so stay in tune for that.

First cage fight

Just had my first fight in a cage last night… it was a modified thai rules fight but in a cage.
Something different but interesting and turned out to befun. Got a draw but had a good experience. Not bad seeing as I got a heads up about it on Tuesday and made a decision on Wednesday to give it a go.
Just waiting now for my flight back home. Will blog more about it later.

Nightlife in Barra da Tijuca

While in Rio de Janeiro there are PLENTY of things to do at night. But I’ll start with what I know best and go over the nightlife in Barra da Tijuca.

There are a number places to go at night in Barra all depending on what you want to do. You can chill and have a couple quiet drinks, or have drinks in a social clubbing atmosphere. The following post will briefly cover some of your options if you happen to be in Barra da Tijuca.

Bar do Oswaldo is a great place to start the night out and is also owned and run by Rommel; a 3rd Black Belt at Gordo’s and takes most of the night classes at the academy.
You have to try the Cafe cremes and for a snack I would go for Frango à Passarinho (cut up pieces of fried chicken). You can check out the cardapio (menu) and more on there website although it’s in portugues.
Bar do Oswaldo webpage

Bom Sujeito
If you’re too lazy to leave Largo do Barra or just want a relatively quiet one you can just go to Bom Sujeito. Situated right above Comanchoes (spelling?), it’s a small samba club that gets a lot of locals. Costs about R$15 to enter from memory.
I was kind of suprised to find they have a website, but it must be down or underconstruction at the moment.

Nightclub protocols
Buying/paying for drinks was quite different for me. Because when you enter you’re given a card. That card is your tab for the night, so any drinks/food you buy is used with that card. At the end of the night (if you’re unlucky to hang around till then) you have to line up and wait ages to pay for that card. Which you show the receipt to the security on your way out.
Some places also have a standard of dress. At Bom Sujeito you can get away with shorts and flip flops but other places you’ll need jeans, shirt and shoes.

Drink costs
Prices may vary between places but the following is a list of general costs, but I thought I should warn you on some of the prices in clubs on drinks, especially Red Bull!
Also sometimes if you’re in a group it might be cheaper to chip in and buy a bottle of Vodka that usually comes with cans of Red Bull (R$200+).
Beers: R$ 2 – 5
Vodka, Bourbon, Whisky: R$15
Red Bull: R$15 (Yes R$15!! Or almost AU$10! Good excuse to just buy straight up booze)

Avenida Armando Lombardi
Is the nightlife strip of road for Barra da Tijuca. There’s a few popular bars and nightclubs to choose from here and I’ve provided the links for some of them.
I’ll go into more details about some of them in the next few posts. All the places are great and have a something a little bit different to offer, so be sure to check them all out during your stay.
Nuth Lounge – nice lounge setting with an upstairs part overlooking the dance floor. Probably most expensive club in Barra (R$70-ish).
Zero Vinte Um (021) – next to Nuth, not as costly and usually get drinks included in entry price. Good atmosphere.
São Nunca – Live samba bands and some funk upstairs. Cheaper and full of locals.
Taj Lounge – a few doors down from 021 and Nuth. Small lounge area. Drinks usually included in price too from what I remember.

Late night snacks
Also on that strip you’ll find a lot of vans and vendors selling food, cigarettes and drinks. You can buy beer cheaper from the vendor guys (dudes with eskys) about 2 for R$5; and an X-Burger with the lot (tudo) from a van is the best after clubbing food.

There are also some places open pretty late like Koni (a sushi joint that offers sushi in rolled cones.. and just a few doors up from Nuth) and the Esso service station. 
Which has a takeaway food joint and is about 10min walk from São Nunca (it could be longer, but that could just be because you’re drunk and walking). Just make sure to give your ticket to the people after you order OR they won’t make your food (learnt that the hard way after waiting years for our food to get made).

Or you can try a hot dog.. with egg, peas, corn, cheese and heaps of other stuff on it.

Connection Rio at On The Mat

https://www.onthemat.com/blogs-posts/connection-rio-your-ticket-real-brazilian-jiu-jtisu-lifestyle

Check out the above linked article by Dennis Asche; talking about the origins of Connection Rio and also giving an idea of what the Jiu Jitsu lifestyle is really like in Brasil.

State of the ears

So this is what my ears look like before and after just over a half year of good jiu jitsu training.  

Before (early October 2009)
   

After (mid April 2010)
   

My right ear has been pretty good and only recently felt a bit bruised the other day when I copped a direct hit to the top part of the ear during boxing sparring… from a girl. 

It didn’t help training some grappling after that. Been applying a bit of ice (which hurts like a BE-OTCh) which I much prefer over draining but the only real way for it to get better is to give it a rest from training.   

You can see the difference between ice and draining between my left (ice) and right (draining) ears. Although I get more cauli on my right ear, probably because I tend to drive my head with that side.  

Anyways more pics in chronological order:   

Just before getting it drained the first time.

Note: If you keep training, they just keep getting swollen. Even with an ear guard on. It will just move and can still rub against your ear and aggravate the swelling again.  

Ears early November 2009: First signs of cauli on left ear… Right ear: See how swollen that sh*t is! Ouch!
 

Just after draining my right ear 
 

Early January 2010.
 

Mid February 2010.
 

Couple weeks ago after training… the other night after training.
 

In my opinion there are 2 looks to cauliflower ear: ugly and uglier. Plus I don’t really want them getting any bigger than they already are, I think that’s enough cauli for a lifetime. Yes, I know all the “badge of honour” arguements for it… but they still look ugly haha

So from now on I’m going to make a more concious effort to wear some ear guards in the hopes of preventing it getting worse. No matter how annoying or pansy looking they may be