My Return to Competition: The War From Within (part 2)

So after some great motivation I was now on a one way course to making my return to competition after a 3 year absence.

Registering for the event 5 days prior I wasn't too concerned with developing my skills {do that regularly} I was more focused on developing my mental game. During those 5 days I started creating a focus on what I wanted out of this tournament. It had to be a strong purpose for going out there again. It couldn't be for obtaining podium prominence or being emotional wanting to hurt the enemy. It has to be something Deep that would allow me to perform at my best which would see me through to the end not matter what the results were.


Using some of the words from the people I mentioned in part one. On a daily basis I kept reading these quotes to myself to help me stay focused. I can honestly say it helped kept me positive and strong through that whole period.

When you feel that demon inside named fatigue tell him to F off and push his ass out of the way!-Gary Peters

Don't gotta be a champ, just better than you once were.- Shane Lees

Give everything you have on Sunday.- Josh Cavan

-The Xande Speech


In addition to show how serious I was I did something I was always afraid to do in past...GO ALONE. With the exception of two people, no one knew I was doing the tournament that's including my instructor Xande. Going into this I knew clearly I would have no one to lean on in defeat and No one to guide me through the storm. In other words I'd be fighting my own battle against the enemy that kept me down for so long.

 
5 days went by quicker than a beruibolo guard sweep as I soon found myself at the Grappling X  tournament at Long Beach, Ca. With a great tournament running on time it was only a matter of time before I was about to fight. In the past I would very be nervous and resorted to various methods to get ready such as getting amped up, listening to gangster music, and even {no offense to those that do} read my bible which options DIDN'T help me at all. This time it felt different. If anything I was more anxious to get out there and see what was at the end of the tunnel after this great challenge.


In this process all I did was small warm ups every 15 minutes, I sat there, waited, and cited this message in my head.

“I am here to be a better man I once was. I give it everything I have today and see this battle through to the end"

 
Later getting called onto the mat I was surrounded by my 4 other competitors. One orange belt name Luke Varnell who dominated his teen division earlier that day, 2 blue belts from my own association {ribeiro affiliate}, and another great blue belt { Manual Figueroa from united bjj} who had a look in his eyes that he came to fight and destroy anyone in his path. To throw a wrench in the equation the referee for my matches was a former teammate of mine from Paragon/ HBJJ who in the past nagged on me for not competing...Talk about the sum of all fears -lol- today was going to be an interesting day.


So our division finally got started. Although I got a bye due to the odd number of competitors that didn't matter as Luke and Manuel made quick work of the other Ribeiro fighters. The crazy part was I didn't even analyze what the winner’s games plans were because I was focused greatly on my purpose.


Name got called onto the mat. THIS WAS IT!!! While standing across the mat looking at my first round opponent Luke Varnell I had a different perspective than I did before . Maybe I grown up a bit or whatever but I didn’t look at him as my enemy or having any hatred for him, as a matter of fact I had a lot of respect for him for being a real competitor. Unfortunately Luke was at the wrong place at the wrong time as he was going to get caught in the crossfire from my battle within. Utilizing the techniques I learned from Trumpet Dan and James Driskill back in 2011 I quickly pulled guard taking his back seconds in the match to secure a RNC finish in a little over a minutes. No victory celebration. I checked on my opponent to see if he was OK, got my hand raised, and walked off the mat.


Now I found myself in the finals against Manuel Figueroa (from United BJJ). Reflecting back on the match it is one I would love to do all over again. The match was defiantly a see-saw war. At one point during the fight while he was in my guard. In my mind I had a big smile on my face saying this and at that moment I realized no matter what the physical result were I knew I was beating those vices.


"There is no other place I rather be right now I am conquering this enemy (not Manuel) and enjoying every minute of it!”


With the match ending the score was tied 4-4 as we soon found ourselves going into overtime. WOW the battle is not over yet. With our bodies wreaked at this point it all came down to whose mind/heart was stronger (which both of ours were) and who wanted it more. Going back to my game plan I quickly pulled guard and miraculously got a sweep. Ending up in half guard with 30 seconds I continued to try and sweep (I don’t stall like most players it wouldn’t have been fair to Manuel). Match was over. When the smoke cleared it was me with my hand raised as the 135 Blue Belt Grappling X Champion that day.
 
After my hand was raised and thanking my opponent for a great fight I slammed the mat with emotion because I did it. All that pain I was carrying around for 7 years was completely gone. I felt like a totally new person. To say the least I was happy.


Standing on top of the podium that day I realized something those entire problems that entered my life were supposed to happen. It was that I overcame them that gave me a clear perception and appreciation of who I was which made my victory far greater than the Gold medal around my neck.

Originally this was supposed to be my one and only tournament...NOT...although I feel I have won the major battle the WAR from within is far from over. With my fresh new start I now have a solid purpose going out there now. It should be quiet the adventure.


I've never asked God for much in my life but as I continue to go out there and compete I only ask for a couple of things......................................

- To always give me the strength to give it everything I have

- Always respect my opponent (whether or not he does the same)

- Too take care of me and my opponent as we go out there and fight for what’s in our hearts

-Not get caught up in the materialistic MEDAL CHASING trend like so many choose to do

- Most importantly to always become a better man stepping off the battle mat (while enjoying my experience).

In other words folks I am not back to become a world champion (No IBJJF tournament for me). I am not back to become a famous grappler. I could care less about that and having 500 phonies (aka Man-Fans aka STANS) adding me to facebook pretending to like me just because I'm kicking ass. I am fine with the friends I have now that were with me during my struggle and when I was a nobody.
 

I am back for one reason and that is "To build myself into the man I want to be".


-monta

My Return to Competition: The War From Within (part 1)

It was just a week after a 3 year hiatus where I made my return to competition at the Grappling X tournament in Long Beach, California. Going up against two great competitors I was able to overcome in route to becoming the 135 blue Grappling X champion. Although getting the gold and standing on top of that podium was great the victory had a more deeper meaning for me which far exceeded a title obtained that day. That day i was able to conquer the biggest enemy I was always afraid to take on..... "MYSELF"

Not to sound crazy but to understand I would have to take you on a brief timeline of my sad history in competition. A story I am now able to openly admit about to anyone reading this blog. Since starting competing in 2005 looking back I can truly say I never knew what it meant to be a competitor. I had different thoughts about competition ranging from just "going out there and doing my best" to even " a fight to the death with a individual trying to hurt me for whatever reason. In a nutshell i was a puzzled mofo.

My theory couldn't be any accurate in my mind at the time after my first no-gi tournament on September 7 of 2005 which left me bloody, a dislocated arm, and a broken spirit that change my life forever.Since that incident I went into future competitions fueled off emotion. No game plan, no technique, just pure rage for my enemy across from me. So much so it got me put on JUDO PAROLE after an incident back in 06. As time progressed I tried my hand at Gi BJJ tournaments in 08 things still remained the same unfortunately (even with my share of wins and loses) and after my 2009 loss at mundials and getting injured in the fight I felt in my heart competition was not for me anymore.

Years passed I began to get older. Had 2 surgeries (non-training related), body got slower, training wasn't right at the time and my mind became non-motivated. At that point i became cool with just training, learning, and meet great people on the mat.Settling down sorta speak. But as all things in life a change was over the hill for me which gave me a new purpose in life which took me on a new path through a new found love for writing articles.

Although I never got paid for 95 % of the article I written the new outlet gave me a new focus in life for helping many great rising stars in BJJ and MMA. Surprisingly it allowed me to establish many great friendship I never could get from competing while also establishing a feeling of importance that I was good at something.Through becoming friends with some of them I began to realize they had alot of qualities i saw in myself ..Only problem was I had a hard time bringing it out

Training also took a drastic turn for the better. After leaving HBJJ I soon found myself training with a very interesting character in the form of  BJJ world champion Xande Ribeiro. To sum it up in a nutshell the training and people i train with are great.

With the inspirational figures i met through my writing and a positive training atmosphere it seemed like I may have had what it take to compete again.NOT REALLY.Time would pass through the year of 2012 and for some reason all I could do was sit an watch all my friends compete and people i did articles on rise to the top. It ATE me alive inside. Why cant i go back out there again ?! What is holding me back ?! Where is my Fighter's Heart ?

Then that is when i realized..I was still haunted from my tournament experiences in the past..something that never left me for over seven years. Somehow an intervention needed to be made ASAP because deep down it was tearing me apart.

The breakthrough would unfold in late September of this year. After a intense training session with Xande he gave a great speech about his life of being a competitor . This speech touched my heart which gave me some encouragement for wanting to go out there again.

The ice break would occur from three great people I meet through my writing in the form of Gary Peters, Shane Lees, and Josh Cavan (BE SURE TO CHECK THEIR ARTICLES OUT). To say they are great fighters is understatement but their story's they bring to the cage are quiet remarkable. These along with many other i wrote about..were people with out fear, people who brought a purpose that no matter what danger they were in was going to see the battle through to the end at all cost.

 Talking to these individuals about what i wanted to do they gave me great mental advice
 for getting prepared for the battle ahead. Becoming a better man than i once was, giving it everything i have, and overcoming the demon of fatigue was all the motivation I needed to step up and  finally do it again.

for the 1st time i knew what it meant to be a competitor, for the first time I had a purpose, for the first time I knew what i was going there to fight for.

 so from that moment I signed up for my 1 BJJ tournament in three years...................


(stay tuned for part 2)

Fantasy Fight Card

Spending sleepless night writing countless articles on many great fighter. You kind of get a perception of each fighters talents, strength, and motivates them to reach the top.

C'n this first hand i decided to I'm gonna play match maker in this blog. Before I start this is in no way meant to instigate feuds. Just my way of showcasing great talents I know so well.
You never know u might make a new friend in the fight community :-)

If i was putting together an MMA PPV this would be my 9 match fantasy fight card (no particular order)

Ametuer line up
Tyler Maples vs Kyle Stewart


Pro Card
Tommy Thompson vs Tommy Leisman
Shane Lees vs Ricky Johnson
Brent Primus vs Alan Jouban
Nick Coughran vs Gary Peters
Brock Gonrang vs Cooper Gibson
Josh Cavan vs Joe Williams
Jeff Humphries vs Nick Laney
Drew Brokenshire vs  Rob Wood

Why BJJ Wont Be in the Olympics

I've been  bashed a bit for my statement on BJJ never being an Olympic sport. If you bother to open your eyes and look at the big picture its quite obvious why it will never happen which i will explain in this blog.

Putting all pride aside the reason I believe the sport of BJJ wont be in the Olympics is because of one main reason there is not separation. By separation I mean there is no separation in countries as far as Best of  the USA, Best of Japan, Best of Brazil -etc- -etc-

Everything is conjoined which create a mix of the high chance of producing  the same results as seen by your favorite Brazilian jiu-jitsu stars because after all it is called "Brazilian" jiu-jitsu.

Example: When you go to see the Mundials (BJJ Worlds) 98 % of the black belts that are on the podium are Brazilian. (as matter of fact the only non-Brazilian Ive seen on the podium consistently is Lovato Jr.)Same boring semi-final and final matches that we have seen countless of times..what is the point of wasting $ and time making it an Olympic sport.

However there is always hope. For this sport to make this happen first we gotta break way from that corrupt organization known as the IBJJF. It is making the sport watered down and after all the incidents with poor scoring, favoritism, poor treatment of athletes and other stuff  we don't need that thorn in our back any longer.

Secondly there need to be more promotion of athletes from other countries. I know there are alot of great Brazilian BJJ fighters that we all aspire to be. Shoot i trained under one of them. However if other great black belts for the other countries don't get same attention (even from their own providence) then what the point in going fwd with Olympic aspirations.

Third there has to be a hierarchy that exceeds the mundials to have particiapants strive for higher standards and goals.
Sample Structure: like pan ams-worlds- another event- trials (team and Olympic)- and so forth.

don't wanna go to deep but in a nutshell.. BJJ we still have some growing to do. ALOT OF GROWING !!!



personally the next best sport that has a chance of getting into the olympics is Sambo...just saying.

Judo Potential

About a week ago (a day after my b-day) I made my return to San Jose (for the 4th time in a 2 year period) although I had my dull moments this time around,there was one thing that stood out that made my trip back to Nor Cal pretty awesome. It has been over 3 years since I’ve done any Judo and for one time only I made my return to train with my all-time favorite judo player Chuck Jefferson.

 

Not only was this a big honor but the experience caused me to stop and think about the great potential of how Judo can be a popular and  marketable sport here in the United States. Before you jump the gun let me explain what I am taking about.

In contrast with overseas countries like Japan, Russia, and Italy Judo in the United States is not that huge when in fact (from what my sensei told me) it is the second most practiced sport in the world next to soccer. Being that the U.S is all about coming up and promoting yourself to gain any following or support it is crucial to endorse yourself in an attractive manner to generate an audience.

Most Judo dojos now adays are ran in the old school style which consist of an old school teaching system and overall a "love it or leave it"  type of environment.The problem with this is since old heads prefer to  keep everything the way it is, it leaves no room for  growth in terms of spreading the great art of Judo and bringing in more hopefuls to experience it.

(and this is just from an academy standpoint)

In addition unlike BJJ and the "powers to be" running the ship that literally rapes the athletes out of high priced academy fees, tournament fees, no health care coverage to assist their athletes, amongst other thing. Judo is fairly cheap to train and compete in and covers for one year medical insurance (for just 50 bucks)... What I’m trying to say is these traits alone give Judo a distinct advantage over it grappling counterpart.

It terms of my visit to Chuck Jefferson's Judo it was an awesome. When I walked in and saw the layout of the facility I had to ask myself for a second...is this the right place? (Mainly because it didn’t look like your typical judo dojo). It was kind of a dream of how i envisioned a Judo school should look like (look at pictures).Aside from the great instructions, the atmosphere had the same Judo customs and courtesies only with a fun energetic atmosphere from a great head coach and four body assistant instructor staff. Nothing more to say but Mr. Jefferson is definitely ahead of the judo game.

Hopefully other judokas are able to catch on to the formula Chuck is already doing. It would be great to see hardworking people like Taylor Takata, Nick Delpopolo, amongst other accomplished stars follow this same format and  see these people be rewarded for all their hard work they have achieved over the years but also help with the growth in the sport of Judo.

Steroids in the BJJ Community

With the past interview I did with Caio Terra and the recent bashing video I posted concerning the subject a lot of people have been asking me about my opinion on steroids in the jj community. The reason why I kept quiet about the situation is its kind of a close to home topic being that I have seen friends and childhood idols lives ruined because of it. However since I’ve been throwing jabs at the situation gonna finally speak about it.

When it comes to steroid usage in actual sports that PAY money to athletes to perform at a certain level it is quiet common and maybe even justified why a person would take steroids. It is no different from a drug dealer selling drugs to provide for his family. Yeah you are taking a risk that endangers your health and it is wrong but you are doing what you have to do to make it in a world that is gradually getting worse economically by the minute.

Ex: many people have bashed pro wrestlers for steroid usage. However what u might not know is these individuals have to maintain a certain image to even be able to even being accepted as a candidate to perform on top shows like WWF or WCW. –don’t believe me- look up WWF Scandal 1992 on youtube. Another thing is athletes go through serious injuries and need a particular medicate steroid to reduce the problem to be able to continue their dreams.

Dangerously wrong yes. Justifiable Yes.

Now how do I feel about steroids in my BJJ community? Simple I think it is foolish and stupid !! and I’ll tell you why.

Let start off with a financial standpoint…..
(I looked this up) steroids cost anywhere between the price range of $ 150 to $ 300. Now let’s add that with your typical yearly gym fee of 1700 plus your tournament entry (Mundials) of 150. If you add that all together it comes out that you are spending A LOT of money just to obtain a $ 25 gold medal, a boost of ego, and a title of BJJ world champion that no one cares about in the real world and people will 4 get about in the next week or so in the bjj world…So in theory you’re paying to even make an ATTEMPT to be great in a sports that pays 0 money and makes money off of you.

It enough that the sport of jiu-jitsu is filled with ego driven, disrespectful, OSS shouting, self-centered people but to throw steroids in the mix totally takes away the intention and honor this discipline was intended for which is to better ones self ( I mean really isn’t that what being a martial artist is all about), I guess that is why this community is getting more ridiculous by the minute.

As a community and as an individual we got start focusing on developing ourselves not focus on title or 15 second glory that won’t mean shit when we die. Seriously steroids will FUCK YOU UP more than any opponent you encounter on the mat will. Your health will be affected seriously and you family will suffer because of your unfortunate stupidity.

As a martial artist focus on your growth and development of character and if you are one of those ego driven people who want some notoriety at lease obtain that goal with some fuck’n  integrity (no strings attached).

Please if you or know some1 that is doing it tell them to stop cuz it will hurt you and everyone that has to live with you death trust me I’ve seen it. Still don’t believe me check this guy out and Sad part is this guy was doing it for $$$ what r u doing it 4 absolutely NOTHING !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVtKGlL0-ls

What Grinds My Gears

The stuff I see now adays in the jj community and even the world is outrageous ..so it time i tell everyone what really grinds my gear top 10. so u know what really grinds my gears ?

1.  Hard working mma fighters and grapplers that are not getting recognized . ( come on other writer steer away from the mainstream and help out the people that need it)

2. The fact that when i get facebook friend request..some people dont even the courtesy to tell me who they are. Geeze where has courtesy run off too.

3. OSSSSS !!! do i really need to talk more about this topic.

4. BJJ Black belt groupies - ( stop being a man fan)

5. the fact that since ronda rousey did an armbar and broke everyone arms..now everyone want to learn an armbar ( if u bother to stop learning all that fancy guard shit, you would notice that is the 1st move u learn in jj class genius).

6. People braging about how they submitted there teammates ( point blank u r a ---- -----, that is why now adays it more called an academy, instead of a team)

7. no name, only won 2 small tournament ass grapplers..try to rape out companies for sponsorships just to make themselves look good ( if i were a owner i would tell u to take ur 2 cent gold medal and shove it up your a**)

8.The fact El Atnom has disappeared where is that guy.

9.   the fact that after over 10 years there is still a debate over gi vs no gi ( shit just shut up about it already and just train)

10. the fact that i got write this out telling u what really grinds my gears !!

anyway c u all next time !!! :-)