Ole

Courtesy of Marcelo Garcia.

Mario Sperry in Seattle

Marcelo Alonso is bringing jiu jitsu and Vale Tudo legend Mario Sperry to town for a three-day seminar in the second half of January.

Mario Sperry Seminar.

The sessions are:

Thursday, January 18: 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Seattle
Thursday, January 18: 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Puyallup
Friday, January 19: 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Seattle
Saturday, January 20: 11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Seattle

I'm not sure if I'll attend or not. I've been off the mat for awhile, and really haven't trained regularly in months. There are also some other issues that may or may not make it an event I want to participate in.

But getting to meet Mario Sperry is a pretty big attration, I'll admit. And that is especially so since I missed a chance to train with both Minotauro AND Anderson Silva earlier this year.

First Six Weeks

In one sense, I'm ecstatic that I managed to complete my six-week strength and conditioning program, the one I set out for myself in part as preparation for training in 2008. Although I missed a workout today since I'm in Tucson, and couldn't do much on Thursday either, the six weeks were a success in terms of doing what I had set out to do.

What was not so successful was my on-the-mat training, which was non-existent through this time. I refuse to be too hard on myself about it. The new job is without a doubt the most challenging gig I've yet to sign on to. And while I don't regret making the move for a second, it has meant sacrificing my on-the-mat time while I got acclimated to the new schedule (and while I waited for my Cobra to kick in).

I'll be back in Seattle on Thursday afternoon, the 27th. Ideally, on the 30th, I'll swing by the new Sunday conditioning class that Jesse is running in the new facility, say "hi" and see where I'm at conditioning-wise. I don't expect to be in great shape, meaning great "jiu jitsu" shape. But I am hoping that the six weeks I've spent on the treadmill, rolling around on the carpet and tossing dumbbells around will keep me from looking completely godawful when I'm finally back on the tatame.

For January, the plan is to shorten the duration and up the intensity: Berardi, 3T and Beaster workouts, with maybe an LSD once a week. The Revolution tournament is scheduled for February 9th, and it will be in Seattle (West Seattle High), so it should be packed. If all goes well and I get the training in that I think I need, then I'm going to go ahead and get my competition hat back on.

By "training I think I need", we're talking three days a week, on average. Tuesday and Thursday nights for sure, with some more work Monday, Wednesday or Friday afternoons. Wednesday would be the easiest, followed by Monday and with Friday a distant third. In a perfect world, I'd get in both a Monday and a Wednesday, but there's no point in overpromising. Unfortunately, the way 2007 went, two days a week would be an accomplishment.

Lloyd Irvin says that it takes 21 days to break a bad habit. My goal will be to get in 21 top quality training session between now and February 9th--the day of the tournament. Practically, that is 21 sessions in five weeks, since the sixth week is the week of the event and I'd love to have worked hard enough in the previous five weeks to be able to decelerate some in the final week.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, a bit. As far as the recently-ended six weeks are concerned, I'm happy for the conditioning work I did, and happy about the resistance work I did. Chalk one up for the preseason. On the 30th we get ready for the real thing.

Results of the First Annual No-Gi Mundial

Are here ...

A few highlights:

Adult:
1- Gracie Barra
2- Guerrilla JJ
3- Alliance

Master & Senior:
1- Megaton
2- Gracie Barra
3- Alliance

Juvenile:
1- Team Mica
2- Roger Gracie Academy
3- Renzo Gracie

Female:
1- Gracie Barra
2- Alliance
3- Maui JJ

Black Belts:

Rooster

First Takeo Tani Gracie Barra

Super Feather

First Samuel Braga Gracie Barra
Second Caio Terra Cesar Gracie
Third John Ramirez BJJ Revolution Team
Third Leandro Escobar American Top Team

Feather

First Rubens Maciel Alliance
Second Shane Rice Rickson
Third Magno Gama Renzo Gracie
Third Diego Correia Relson Gracie

Light

First Jeff Glover Alliance
Second Daniel Aguiar Renzo Gracie
Third Diego Saraiva Knuckleup
Third Joao Silva Aloisio Silva

Middle

First Pablo Popovitch Team Popovitch
Second Daniel Correia Relson Gracie
Third William Cooper Alliance
Third Lucas Leite Brasa

Medium Heavy

First Marcel Louzado Brasa
Second Luke Stewart Ralph Gracie
Third Joao Felipe Oliveira Gracie Barra
Third Tony Eduardo Lima Ralph Gracie

Heavy

First Roberto Camargo Gracie Barra
Second Fabio Leopoldo Renzo Gracie
Third Alexandre Ferreira Gracie Barra
Third Matheus Costa Ryan Gracie

Super Heavy

First Vinicius Magalhaes Team Quest
Second Christiano Lazzarini Gracie Barra
Third Roberto Abreu filho American Top Team

SuperSuper Heavy

First Bruno Paulista Gracie Barra America
Second Jeff Monson American Top Team
Third Rodrigo Medeiros Brasa
Third Jose Mario Mac Cord Brasa

Open Class

First Jeff Monson American Top Team
Second Bill Cooper Alliance
Third Cristiano Lazarini Gracie Barra

Ryan Hall won the Adult Purple Belt Light

My division(s):

Adult Blue Belt - Light

First Sean Roberts Ralph Gracie
Second Chris Saunders Brazilian Top Team
Third Sean Robinson BJJ Revolution Team
Third Juan Nunez Cesar Gracie

Masters (30-35) Blue Belt - Light

First Michikazu Moriuchi Bevely Hills JJ Club
Second Bradley Pitchard Gracie Barra
Third David Callaham 10th Planet
Third Chad Conte 10th Planet

Seniors (36 to 40) 1 Blue Belt - Light

First Sam DiMaggio Gracie JJ Academy
Second Takuya Sato Hollywood Bjj
Third Joe Solis Neutral Grounds
Third Ray Borel LDMA

Seniors 2 (41-45) Blue Belt - Light

First Dale Kersting Megaton
Second Rod Roberts Gracie Barra Costa Mesa

Sprint Workouts

I won't have much access to equipment for the week I'll be in Tucson. So in addition to heavy reliance on the 3T to keep me in shape, I'm thinking it might be a good time to integrate sprint workouts.

Sprint Workout

If I can find a place to run that won't completely freak out the in-laws neighbors, that is ...

At a minimum, there should be some good hiking.