Leaving for Rio

I left Edmonton for Rio on what I was told later is the 2nd busiest travel day of the year in the U.S.: Thanksgiving eve. My connection took me through Minneapolis and Atlanta, which were absolutely packed.

After 15 hours of travel I arrived in Rio. The warm air greeted me when I stepped off the plane. Note there was a couple of inches of snow on the ground when I left Edmonton, so the warmth was very much appreciated. Customs was very smooth, but I was more than a little disappointed when the agent informed me they no longer require proof of Yellow Fever vaccination to enter the country - at least for Rio.

I made arrangements to stay at a place in Barra before leaving with a wonderful individual and fantastic BJJ player. Dennis Asche is a blackbelt under Gordo and runs Connection Rio. Dennis arranged for one of the senior blackbelts to pick me up at the airport. The Connection Rio headquarters is located in the older part of Barra and is exceptional. It's located in a safe neighbourhood, it's close to shopping, restaurants and, most important, training! Dennis made things easy for me to stay and train. If you're heading to Rio make certain you check out Connection Rio.

Here are some of the photos from the house.

Misty - Blackbelt

I hinted in my previous post about my greatest friend Misty Shearer (my BFF as our partners joke!) being awarded her blackbelt on December 5th. I can think of no more deserving individual. She has given a tremendous amount of her time, her energy and herself to the sport and those that she teaches.

I, for one, doubt very much that I would be where I am in BJJ (purple belt, doing a study on the topic & etc.) without her help and encouragement. In fact, she taught the very first class I ever took and it is her enthusiasm and passion that has helped to fuel my BJJ fire.

Not only is Misty an amazing coach, but is infinitely knowledgeable about the sport. Ask her about any Pan Am or Mundial match from the last couple of decades and she'll tell you who won and how. She has also watched and studied almost every BJJ DVD ever produced. If you're having a problem with your guard passing game, she can point you to a vidoe or a clip that will almost certainly clean up your problem.

She is immensely talented. The week following her promotion she traveled to Vegas to compete at Grapplers' Quest. She won both the gi and no gi divisions. Impressive, no doubt!

Congratulations, Misty. Well earned!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of you! I have a lot on which to post. I returned from Rio on December 4th. That was an unbelievable trip and I look forward to telling you all about it. The next day, my best friend and training partner, Misty Shearer, was awarded her blackbelt - awesome. We are developing and coaching the UofA sub grappling team.

There is much going on in my BJJ life right now. On the study front, I have a paper that is coming out in the next issue of BJJ Legends, a paper I'm presenting at an international conference in March and a paper on physiology and BJJ in an academic journal due later in 2010.