Prof. Foster's Triumph For Tony Benefit Seminar

As promised, I'm catching this blog, and the followers, up with all cool things I've done in the past few months. This seminar I was honoured to attend happened back on September 5th and is one of greatest things I've been lucky enough to be a part of in the Jiu-Jitsu community!
This seminar was set up by Prof. James Foster to help out one of his students, Tony Welker, who was tragically injured at work, paralyzed from the chest down from a broken neck. Proving that his heart is even bigger than his intimidating size, Prof. Foster reached out to the Jiu-Jitsu community to put together this fundraiser, and in likewise fashion, the community answered incredibly with people from all over showing their support. The seminar was an all star line up of black belts sharing their knowledge, and over 100 people there to learn and show the love the Jiu-Jitsu family has for a brother in need. It was an amazing day!

Triumph For Tony Seminar Sept. 5th

Watching and being a part of this seminar hit me personally on several levels. First, the tragic injury itself. With my work there is constant workplace hazards to be aware of and I am always mindful of being as safe as I can while working. The problem is that being 100% safe isn't always possible but if everyone is on the same level of safety awareness then we can lessen the state of hazards we work in. Some people work more carefree than others, sometimes you get caught up in the work and realize after that maybe that wasn't so safe. Errors happen, people get hurt, Tony is the prime example of that. Seeing what happened to Tony, and how the community has reacted, has brought home the impact workplace accidents has not only on the individual but his friends and family. So it was an honour to be a part of this seminar and help Tony out, if it were me I'd hope to be lucky enough to the have support.
Secondly, the show of support from the Jiu-Jitsu community, myself and another teammate came down from Victoria BC to Seattle, not a long trip, but others came from all over the USA, I believe a group came from Texas to participate and teach! And, we even had a special guest show up from Brazil! People from all over, coming from all different lineages of the BJJ family came together and showed what I've been saying all this time: it's all one family, and one art. This floored me, seeing this all come together, watching the support from all over, it was not you typical seminar.

My teammate and I took a hydroplane down the friday night, which was pretty cool flying low through downtown Seattle as we landed, and made our way to the hotel that evening. Given that the hotel was a bit of a walk away from the club and city buses weren't running during the time we needed I put out the request to see if I could get a ride for us to the seminar. It would be a great way to meet someone at the seminar as well as get a ride. A good friend of Foster's, Johnathan Moses (great guy BTW!) offered to pick us up Saturday morning, awesome! He told me Friday night he'd be a little late as he was "picking up a friend from the airport" no problem, I'm thinking maybe it's another teammate coming in late that he's picking up, great chance to meet another new face. So Saturday morning comes and as Johnathan's car pulls in to pick us up I see who's sitting shotgun, the Arm Collector himself, Giva Santana! Ends up they set up a special visit to surprise James Foster with his mentor and the head of the Lotus Club, very few people knew he was coming and he even hid from Prof. Foster until the last minute. "Hey! What's going on? I was just driving around the block and saw all the cars outside and thought I'd drop by" It was a way more special ride to the seminar than I was planning for!

The seminar, it was amazing! So much cool techniques were shown during the day by so many different instructors. it was really neat to see the different teaching methods each has and see techniques from a different perspective. Of course there were a few armbars shown, after all how do you skip armbars when the Arm Collector is on the mats?! But also a lot of guard passing techniques were shown as well. It was a lot of fun, seeing new faces, seeing old friends, learning awesome techniques, having Renato Laranja uncomfortably hug you and not let go...haha great times!

I just wanted a pic with him!

As Prof. Foster is an amazing man, he put together a video of the seminar showing off all kinds of cool techniques, showcasing how awesome a day you missed, and cause I'm awesome, here it is:

or you can go to Youtube and watch it there with this link: Triumph For Tony Seminar  

The ride home was uneventful, we mostly talked about how cool of a seminar it was, meeting all the people we met and watching them all come and support Tony. We were disappointed we didn't get to meet Tony, but he was the star there and was constantly surrounded by people, talking and taking pictures with him. It was good to see him out and wearing his gi while he watched from his wheelchair. It must have been a big and tiring day for him to be out, for the first time I believe, and see everyone.  He was in great spirits that day, and so was everyone else, it was good feeling being there for the seminar, something I was gladly be a apart of again.   

Lucky enough to get a picture with Classy Grappler, Giva "The Arm Collector" Santana, and the giant James "300" Foster!

So Much to catch up on!!

I'm Back!!

It's been awhile since my last post, not because I've been resting and doing nothing, but because I've been pretty busy, both with Jiu-Jitsu and work. I have some travels, experiences, and of course some research to tell you all about; if you're on my Facebook page then you've seen the pics and some of the stories but there's a lot I haven't shown or told! Since my last post I returned home just in time test for my orange belt in Japanese Goshin Ju-Jutsu, I revisited James "300" Foster's for a weekend super seminar, had some time to reflect on the Mini-Odyssey, competed in a tournament which involved my first no gi competition, and just recently took off to Tokyo, Japan to train with some amazing people for a week then came back in time to watch my teammates test for their belts and attend Keith Owen's special Halloween seminar we had. Wow, I've been busy! I'm still reeling from the Tokyo experience and the whole thing has brought up more ideas and things to look into before the Odyssey starts next year! With all these experiences and stories to cover you can bet there's going to be a few posts made, this all would be way too big for one single post!

The Home Front

Before we dive into some of these awesome stories let me first let you know where I am on a personal level. I'm still training as much as I can, having fun with all my awesome Jiu-Jitsu family, getting in all the knowledge I can. As for work I'm no longer along side on solid ground, I'm now back to working on ships (I'm a member of the Canadian Forces Navy, in case you didn't know) and with that I can expect to be sailing in the near future. Sailing, while I don't mind it and like getting out there, doing some good and seeing the world, I do mind being away from consistent training and unable to regularly work on this project. So as a warning, coming up in the new year you may hear less from me, but I will try and keep you all posted on my martial arts travels and training experiences. Some times it's hard to get time to sit down and write up full blog posts like this so if you like reading my stuff and following my experiences, join my Facebook group Panda's Odyssey: My Journey Across the World with Martial Arts I like to drop pics and bits of stories on my travels I that group before anywhere else.

Opening My Eyes

All this recent traveling and the experiences I've had along the way has really added fuel to this adventure, to my quest to prepare for my The Odyssey, to travel the world training and learning all the martial arts I can. But now it's more than that, there's an aspect I've overlooked, and I really can't believe I never thought of this; now it's also about going out there and seeing the world, experiencing the different cultures and meeting all the cool people out there! I knew I'd meet cool like-minded people and knew that that alone would be an amazing experience, making friends as I travel. But what I didn't account for was the fun I'd have and awe I'd be in seeing and experiencing different cultures. Seeing how different people in different cities in different countries get along on their everyday life. I've always been a bit of a people watcher, it's actually what I like most about going out to clubs and bars, watching all the different human interactions. So it's strange that I never once thought about enjoying being in new cities so much, sure I thought about seeing the sites and views the places have to offer, but never thought about the people outside the gyms whose paths I'd be crossing everyday. If this seems strange to you, my post about Tokyo will shed some light, but I don't want to give too much away, the point I'm trying to make now is that there's much more than a cool building to see or new place to train at that the destination has to offer.    

The Belt Test

During the Mini-Odyssey I was spending free time studying for my orange belt test for the traditional Japanese Ju-Jutsu I also train in. As I wrote in the Mini-Odyssey Week One my private lesson with Kyoshi Seamark helped tremendously (thank you again for that Sir!) and I felt quit confident for the test. I actually made it back in town just in time for an open mat session and went straight from the airport to the club to run through the test with the other teammates testing. After a successful training everything felt great, despite being jetlagged and the ears still being swollen and hurt (I suffered a double ear infection while in Idaho, BTW). The very next day was the real test and I'm happy to say we all rocked it! I had a little awkwardness during the test mostly because since I was away traveling for the last 3 weeks I hadn't set up an uki. As such I used my friend Mike Bramwell, who also went for his yellow belt that day, as my uki. The problem was that Mike didn't know the orange belt curriculum so there was more resistance to the techniques, not intentional of course, then I was used to. All that is minor though, just another part of learning and adapting, and we all did great!

My teammates and myself showing off our new belts in Goshin Ju-Jutsu. 

    
    I was going to add a section in the this about the contemplation of what I learned or things that came up to research more during the Mini-Odysssey but since I just came back from a week of training in another land I have that new information learnt to add as well. So I'll save it all for a separate post as I set my goals for the next year of planning, though I have my travels and experiences to fill you all in on first!   

Competition!

So I jumped in to a competition again, both gi and no gi this time, it was actually my first no gi comp and there was a lot learned that day! So the local competition, Be First Championships, hosts round robin competitions in a variety of combat sports, it's a lot of fun to get out to and watch as well as compete with you teammates against other clubs. This competition was almost exactly one year from my first comp, where I earned silver after being amaricana'd in the lone match for my division. If I still had that video of me from that competition I'd love to watch it and compare it to footage from this comp. It would be great to see the vast difference between my all nerves and adrenaline, not thinking straight first competition and any match from the last competition, where I felt very much more in control of my actions. In this competition I pulled up with a silver medal, just like a year before, only in this instance I feel like I really earned it, won it actually. That's just it, I never feel bad for receiving a medal, even if I lose, because anyone who steps on the mats to compete deserves recognition. Any medal I've ever been given I earned, but to finally be in the position where I attained a medal from straight up winning against my opponent, that's a medal won, not just earned but won! My first competition I lost a match after 2 minutes of grappling and earned silver, a year later I competed and I won one match and lost another to win silver, there's a big difference in the feeling between those two competitions. I'm proud of both but still there's a different feeling, maybe more proud? During the last competition I also went on to have 8 no gi matches against some giant grappling sharks. I was by far the inexperienced one in this group and was happy just to hold on and get draws against some of the opponents. In end I'm happy with how I pulled up, having learned a lot and gained insights on where to target my training for the next time. Another first for this competition was coaching my teammates. I was the senior belt there as it was a bad week for a lot for the club members so most of my warm up time was spent coaching the other teammates. I don't know how much it helped, I mostly tried to give tem some pointers and keep them calm between matches, they all get great, with everyone pulling up with at least one medal in their divisions.   

A few shots from the competition

          
That's it for this post, still lots to talk about and share! keep watch, I'm looking to get caught up this week so expect a couple posts in quick succession!

Mini Odyssey Week 3 Part 2 - Training At The Crash HQ!

Wrapping up the Mini Odyssey with finally being able to train in Meridian, Idaho!!

Welcome to The Crash!

As we left off I was feeling like cutting my ears off from the pain and discomfort of having what evolved into a double ear infection, things got better. Let's rewind back to my first time showing up at Ultimate Karate & Jiu Jitsu in Meridian, Idaho, home of Prof. Keith 'The Rhino' Owen. It was Tuesday, I had already missed Monday dealing with the initial ear infection and still felt horrible but well enough to show up and watch class. I was kind of excited to show up even though I was unable to train because for one Mr. Keith is great man and an amazing teacher so anytime being in his presence is always time well spent, but also I wanted to actually be in the place I've seen pictures and videos of. That goes really for all the places I visited this trip, it's really an exciting feeling to walk through the doors to a gym you've seen so many photos of so you can finally feel that feeling of training there for yourself. It's like immersing yourself in a good book where you feel like you're in that imaginary world, once you've trained at those places you can see training photos and videos and imagine actually being there. Does anyone else get that visual feeling looking at places you been to? Or am I just crazy? Both?

Anyways, walking through those doors felt like walking into your aunts and uncles house, you're visiting family and that place is now your home until you leave. It was great meeting everyone there that I'd already been talking to online, having tagged Mr. Keith on the updates of my ear infection much of the Crash Family were following. I had shown up early before the adult class started, the kids class in about halfway through and while talking with people around the front desk I was spotted from across the gym by Mr. Keith, he immediately came over to great me and see how I was doing. As I said he's a great man, all through the week he looked out for me, making sure that I knew that if I ever needed anything he would be there and giving drives whenever he could. He showed genuine care and concern over my being sick, I was very much made to feel like family, thank you Sir, you're awesome!

Good times having a private class with Prof. Keith Owen

The class was fun to watch, to see everyone working on the techniques shown and see it from an outside perspective of everyone doing their reps or troubleshooting the shown technique rather than being in there and only concerning myself and my partner, like seeing the entire battle field instead of the one small battle. The class was about half a dozen people or so of various skill levels and sizes, no longer was I in the 'Hall of Giants' but still, given Mr. Keith's ability to nail the small details I knew if I got on the mats I'd have my hands full. Everyone was nice, with most people taking the chance to introduce themselves and briefly chat with me before class or quickly between drills as they grabbed a drink of water. It helped feel even more welcome and wished I could train, but as the class went on I was glad I wasn't on the mats, which for people that know me that speaks volumes for how I felt. I didn't stay the entire time, leaving early during their rolling session, because I was feeling worse as the evening went on, how little did I know how bad I was about to get.

As told in the previous post I got more sick, with both ears being swollen now, and Wednesday started out as the worst day ever, the pain was so incredibly bad I couldn't eat and hadn't gotten any sleep that night. Back to the hospital I went. I even became worried and depressed that the entire week would be lost. With new medication, and some awesome painkillers, the day made a drastic turn for the better and I gained a new outlook and hope of training. I was starting to feel better so I made it to class to watch again, only this time I was invited to come sit on the mats and watch amongst the class. I can't tell you how good that feels, being on the mats and watching class felt like their was nothing wrong with me, it was a statement, 'you're one of us, you deserve to be on the mats' and almost made me forget the pain and problems with the hearing loss. Showing up to class, if only to watch definitely has healing powers as well as learning benefits. For one you don't go crazy or get depressed just sitting at home, or in my case a hotel room, with nothing to do. Being there watching class keeps the mind sharp, and really that the most important weapon, a sharp mind. So for all those injured and sitting out, drop by and watch, it's way better than whatever is on TV. Unless you're sick and need rest, in which case keep everyone else healthy and stay home and get your jiu-jitsu fix online. Showing up definitely made me feel better, despite not being able to train, and having feeling better it renewed the determination to be able to train before leaving. It would all rest on how I would felt in the morning.

The night's sleep proved to be effective, Thursday I woke up feeling well enough to try training, but no rolling, and with that happy feeling, I decided to go on an adventure. To this point all my adventures in Meridian/Boise, with the exception of the drugged up Dairy Queen trip and making it the gym for the first time, were not happy adventures. They consisted of finding the hospital, finding the pharmacy, going on a hunt in the middle of the night for over the counter medication in hopes it work, those aren't fun adventures and I wanted to have at least one before leaving. Before class that night I would need to go shopping and pick up some headgear to protect my ears. Now I could have called Mr. Keith and asked for a ride to the sports store and be done easy as that, but using the transit system and getting around town on my own is something I pride myself on being able to do, it's like each city is a maze and I gladly accept the challenge. Plus, that's the adventure, so unless he was going let me drive, which would be bad for all of us, getting a ride would ruin the fun. So I ventured out to Boise to the sports store, made my way around town had my adventure of navigating and made it back in time to rest up before attending that nights class. Oh, and I was able to eat again finally so I had an awesome giant burger at the 50's café next to the hotel, best day so far already!

I didn't have a pic of the awesome burger so I decided to post this charming picture my new headgear again, you're welcome. 

The afternoon nap, and probably the meds, had me moving slower than usual. I just made in the door as class was starting, I quickly walk through the doors, aiming towards the change rooms when I pass the mats, and there is the class, well over a dozen of them, most of them way bigger than the previous class I had watched, all in no-gi attire. Well tonight was going to be interesting! I had the pleasure of working with the biggest guy there, he was strong and moved with a purpose, I was very glad I wouldn't be rolling that night. It was so fun to get back into class and train and get reps in. All truth told, missing class wouldn't bug me as much if this were all to happen while at home. For instance, I've been out of training all this week because I'm still dealing with the last bit of this ear infection and although I'm feeling down not being able to train it's not bugging me as much as I was on the road. The whole purpose of the trip was to train and with that gone the trip seemed wasted, at least at home there's always the feeling of 'well there's always tomorrow'. The class went well with the headgear, I didn't experience too much discomfort and apart from the end of rolling I was able to partake in the whole class. With being sick and no-gi not being my strong suit, the combination was a recipe for injury so I was more than happy to watch the class roll from sidelines. Having been able to attend the class and still feel ok by the end of it made me feel good about training the rest of the week and maybe even the possibility to roll.

Watching class and learning lots!

Friday I had the pleasure of having a private class with 'The Rhino'. It was a great chance to hammer down some pointers for closing some gaps in my game. As really everyone should I'm always reflecting on how I get caught and where my weak points are, which let's face it, there are many at this early point in my jiu-jitsu life, after all I'm still only a blue belt. It was an hour well spent, so many details shown to me that really changed my way of looking at open guard and defending being passed, the core of the game really. After the private class I was really looking forward to rolling and being able to try some of the techniques and concepts, and Saturday was an open mat class so I would have ample chance for just that. Or so I thought. I showed up to the open mat class, which had a good turn out, looking forward to finally roll. I didn't know how long I'd be able to hold out but I was looking to roll light and work on some of the techniques from the private class, the senior students had other plans. I don't know if they were just in a higher gear than me that day or what but I felt like I was being danced around and played with the entire time I rolled. During the private class I was told working from the bottom is like practicing to be a ball, well this ball got flattened. As I was rolling Mr. Keith called out to me "how's it going?" to which I replied "I'm trying those things you showed me but they're not working!" "Just keep at it!" and I did, with little success. But that's ok, it's all part of the learning process. I don't know if I was in a more weakened state than I thought but even just trying to hip escape while training seemed like a lot more work. I was burnt out after just 3 rolls and sat out the rest of the time. The higher elevation of Idaho did play a factor into it, being over 2000 ft. higher up than usual does have an effect on your body. I was out of breath way easier and it took a long time to get it back, I felt weak. After that open mat session I now know why the athletes train at high elevations, well I knew before but now I know first hand. All and all it was a good last class, I was happy to get some rolling in before leaving.

Last class of  my trip, great bunch of people right there!

And there you have it, an overall great trip to three awesome places. I look forward to returning to them all again some day and in mean the time I really look forward to getting back on the mats at home to work on the all the new knowledge I gained while traveling. To everyone who I met along the way, thank you for the experiences, Oss! 

Mini Odyssey Week 3 Part 1 - The Ear Infection!

What a week to end off the Mini Odyssey!

Right from the start this week was an adventure, and not necessarily always a good one. It started with the early morning taxi ride to the Sea-Tac airport where I'm convinced the driver was nodding off as he was driving, swirving, slowing down and speeding up, hitting the rumble strips over and over, making me a little worried I was going to miss my plane if you know what I mean. Luckily I made it to Boise, Idaho, and from the airport to my hotel in Meridian, without incident.

Just Arrived in Idaho!

As I get settled into my room, picking up groceries and checking out the surrounding area, I noticed two things pretty quick about Meridian, Idaho. One, people sure do like landscaping here. It looks like a new town popped up in the middle of nowhere, nothing but rock and mountains surround the horizon from any view, and the whole place is perfectly landscaped, like a vacation resort in the middle of a desert. Each lawn perfectly green and irrigated, or a nicely designed rock garden.
The second thing, it's dam hot here! Every day was like a dry, sweltering 100°F+, or 40°C, day. I don't know how people were walking about in full pants and jackets in this weather, I was dying in just my t-shirt and shorts, what can I say, I don't like the heat, after all I'm Canadian!
So after getting settled into the new place and calling it a night I wake up at 3am with a searing pain in my left ear. I can't hear from it because it's swollen shut. I've never had a problem like this before, I've had ear aches and an ear infection before but nothing like this. Not wanting to jump the gun and go straight to the hostipal for an unneeded cause and end up with a bunch of unecessary medical bills but unable to get back to sleep due to the pain I decided to go to the 24/7 grocery store across the street and get some over the counter ear drops. I didn't get too much sleep that night and finally in the afternoon Monday, as the pain and swelling continued to get worse, I decided I needed more than just over the counter medicine, I needed to go to the hostipal and get some antibiotics.

The worst thing about going to a hostipal while on vacation is paperwork. Even if you have coverage and insurance there's still a lot of paperwork to do in order to use their services and unfortunately since I didn't have my medical card with me I had extra paperwork to do. That aside the services were pretty quick and painless to use, I was seen quick and given a prescription easy enough, and even getting the medicine wasn't too bad or expensive. I'm still dealing with the paperwork for my visits to the hostipal but fortunately I'm covered from work and shouldn't have to pay anything. This is a pretty big point I've been researching for the full Odyssey, travel and medical insurance. It's important even if you end up not needing it because you never know and it's better to be safe than sorry. Luckily, being in the military, they cover me for medical needs, both when in service and when on leave. When I am no longer in the military before any traveling, insurance will be at the top of the list of things to acquire. For all those traveling, military or not, always make sure you have your medical card or all necessary insurance information with you! As I found out the hostipal needs much more than just your insurance number for billing and records, they need the full proper name of your insurance, it's billing address and contact information as well so having that handy will help cut down paperwork and/or having to pay upfront and hoping to be reimbursed later. Also, contact numbers. Having contact numbers for your insurance company in order to get ahold of them easy to arrange paperwork to be completed in an orderly fashion helps greatly. I was lucky to have friends online to point me in the right direction, and Google, to find the proper 1-800 emergency number for traveling members that helped get the paperwork for the visits rolling and not leaving me fronting the bills.
So the first day of visiting Idaho and training at my our head black belt, Prof. Keith Owen's home club, Ultimate Karate and BJJ was a bust, spent mostly in a hostipal and pharmacy and then finally catching up on lost sleep. What a hell of an adventure in the first 24 hrs, and a terrible start to the week. It didn't get much better.

Tuesday I spent resting, hoping the infection would die down enough to attend class, sadly it did not but I was able enough to get out and watch class that night, more on that later. That night my right ear started to act up and by morning both ears were swollen up, losing probably 80% of my hearing while being in extreme pain. I was unable to sleep or eat due to the swelling on my jaws I couldn't chew, so Wednesday I was off again to the hostipal. My ear infection at this point had gotten so bad that my ears were leaking some sort of discharge and I was fearing permanent damage. No longer was I wondering about being able to make it to training, that I had given up on. Now I was worrying about making it home. Would this heal over in time for my flight? How would I be able to fly home like this? The second visit took a bit longer to deal with mostly because they were busier with people than last time but still saw me quick enough. There was a more thorough examination but the doctor couldn't make out how both ears were now flaring up so bad. It was an external infection, I was told, more commonly known as swimmers ear, but I hadn't been swimming at all this whole time. To today I'm still dealing with this problem, albeit at a much lesser extent, and all I can guess is with all the training in Seattle topped off with the flight over the mountains to Idaho my ears just had enough. I've never had this problem before ever or any other serious ear problems other than some mild cauliflower ear, so it's pretty discerning. So I get a new prescription, not for more or stronger antibiotics but for painkillers to deal with the discomfort. I asked the doctor about flying he didn't seem too worried and said to just dope myself up from the pain. With nothing else to do but hope they'll get better before I fly it was time to rest and hope the painkillers work. They worked alright. Knocked me out pretty good and I was done for the day, missing even being able to watch another class, but not before having a very fun walk down the street and back for ice cream.

(You can insert a picture here of a very unhappy and disgruntled me sitting in a hostipal room, I would have taken one but I was in no mood for pictures at this point)

Thursday comes around and I'm feeling much better, the pressure had gone down I could now chew and eat a full meal without much problems, the hearing loss was still there but not the pain. At it's worst I was pretty much surviving on coconut water, the pressure and pain was so bad that I couldn't clench my teeth, my jaws were so bad I could fit my tongue in the space left between my teeth, eating was pretty much out of the question unless it was soft food. But now I could eat and it felt good. The past two nights I was fighting off a fever in the evening but today I felt like the antibiotics were kicking in and the painkillers were definitely doing their job. I felt good enough to go to class, no rolling but at least I could go and get some reps in, it felt good to be on the mats again but that's for the next post.

The rest of the week I was in a wierd state, unable to hear much but not in pain so long as I kept myself doped up. I finished off the week with the pressure coming down from my ears enough so that I could eat and feel safe enough to fly home. As per advice given to me I tried using chewing gum to help lessen any ear problems while flying as the air pressure changed, but all it seemed to do was make my jaws hurt from chewing too much. I made it home either way, and happily no ear drums exploded on the way. While this whole event was definitely a downer for my trip it actually helped out a lot for planning my full tour. With this hiccup I was able to experience the full gambit of traveling. I spent time graciously accepting the hostipality of friends letting me couch surf, I spent time meeting and making all sorts of friends on the road and learning to get around on my own in a new city, I experienced with measured success, eating relatively healthy while on the road and a limited budget and now I had experienced being sick and dealing with medical insurance and hostipals while traveling. Really other than dealing with law services I had a full view of what to expect and plan for while traveling and I was able to see what areas need more research, but more on that in another future post. So really as much as this whole ordeal sucked it actually helped out in the long run, not that knowing this made it any more fun. So although this post is a bit of a downer, it does illustrate some important points, and trust me, part 2 gets way better!

Shopping for headgear to protect my ears and catch the last few classes of the week, read about that in part 2! 

Mini Odyssey Week 2 - Kent WA

Week two down, and a bit too fast if you asked me!

Home of James "300" Foster and a lot of big guys. Should really be called "The Hall of Giants"

For those who don't know I spent the week training at Foster BJJ in Kent, WA. It's just outside of Seattle, not that you'd tell the difference, in my opinion I just spent a week in the industrial neighborhood of Seattle, really. But then again all I did was train and didn't get a chance to see much around me. It brings up a point, or rather a topic for discussion, should room be made to venture out and see the area you're staying in? Even if it may cut training down by half? To do the tourist thing or put yourself in your own training camp state of mind, that is really the question. I've been to Seattle before and I've gone out and seen a lot of things, took all sorts of pics and everything. This time around I only got a few pics and they're only of training. I had a cool view of the city and the Space Needle coming in on the bus that in retrospect I should have taken a picture of for this blog, to be better able to share with you what I do and see. On that same note it's probably a good thing I didn't take a selfie at the border customs, as fun as it would have been it might not have gone over well.
On the topic of customs, it actually wasn't too bad getting through. It took a little time, only because I ended up in the line of all the people who weren't from Canada or US and they had to do extra paper work. Other than losing my hat I picked up from Sechelt the only eventful thing was convincing the customs officer that this was the face of a member of the Canadian Navy.

Took this for my brother as I've been wearing his bands shirt as my travel shirt (Phantom, check them out!) This is what I wore through the US customs.

After a long day of traveling and getting supplies, I was finally settled in and ready to start the week of training up to 3 classes (4.5 hours) a day with all the awesome people at Foster BJJ. Again I found myself in the excited yet tired conumdrum. I double checked the bus schedule, of the 2 trips each way a day I'd only be able to catch it once a day, as well as the walking route (a 45 min walk). I always try to be ready and early, giving extra time for traveling routes, it's a trait I had even before the military burned it into my brain. Once I had everything ready I decided to finish and upload the blog post I had been writing with whatever free time I had all day while traveling. Being that I have an older android based tablet, there's no word program, so my entire post was compiled on a series on 'notes' basically one paragraph at a time. I began cutting and pasting the notes into the blog post and suddenly everything went black, the tablet had glitched, it restarted, with absolutely nothing left where the notes were. Having a long day I decided instead of breaking everything in sight, like I wanted to, I would just turn it off and call it a night. Luckily, whe I was in better spirits, I found the blog post had been saved in drafts. Unfortunately, I had already used up a lot of time re-writing it, so the post published last week was actually a mix of the two drafts. Now that alone was time cosuming and tiring, but as my tablet is old and my phone new, I actually ended up using my phone to drop in the pics and do a double check of everything, bouncing back to the tablet to re-write any bigger mistakes or changes, before publishing, it took a long time, I hope you all enjoyed it. I will add the dame is happening with this post as well..getting a newer tablet will be in the list of priorities next year.

At my first class I didn't know what to expect for my first class at Professor, or Coach as his students call him, Foster's gym. I'd only seen pics of it and of the people who trained there. I was excited to see what sort of talent would be on the mats, at a place that has a dozen and half black belts training there. I knew from the pics there were a lot of big guys who trained there but how would they roll? Coach Foster himself rolls like a small guy and unless he wants you feel his strength and weight you almost forget you rolling with a giant. This is more from stories I'd heard from other people, I've only rolled with him once and it was a while back. I was hoping to roll with him again but, just my luck, he was off for the week, next time then. The noon time classes weren't as big as I thought it might be, only half a dozen people, for some reason I expected the class average to be 20 or more, I don't know why I thought that really, but no matter the number the quality on the mats was always top notch. I knew I had my work cut out for me when it came to rolling with the guys and lets sum it up this way, I learnt a lot, and got a lot of time to work my bottom game and defence against a lot of 'A' game techniques.

One of the smaller noon time classes. 

After class I was given a ride back to the hotel by another student, I didn't have to ask it, and I never did all week, most times I was offered a ride before even leaving the club, and always I was very grateful for the hospitality. It never ceases to amaze me how much the jiu-jitsu community looks after one another. Everytime I go somewhere there's always someone who makes you to feel at home and helps you out in anyway he, or she, can. I was thinking about this point the other day as I was reading the Christian Graugart's BJJ Globetrotter book, near the end he addresses this welcoming attitude in the community and has a great theory about it. He states that within minutes of meeting one another you're going to have each other's asses in your face, that's part of the game, you're used to that close interaction with other jiu-jitsu members so that initial ice breaker is really non-existant. I'd like to add that if you meet someone at a party and they also practice jiu-jitsu you instantly have a topic to talk about for the entire time, if they don't practice martial arts there's usually awkward "so, what DO you do then?" as you try to find common ground. Jiu-jitsu is the common ground ice breaker in itself.
I get back to the hotel and begin my routine after class: shower, stretch, dehydrate and refuel. I think that routine is what kept me going all week, looking after myself and forcing myself to make sure I had properly stretched and rehydrated. I'm usually really good on keeping hydrated, drinking 3-5 liters of water a day as it is, but with this higher than normal active schedule I was constantly drinking water, as much as 7 liters a day. And stretching was a must, I couldn't let anything get cramped up and made sure to look into any kinks soreness to make sure I was doing ok. I know there are a lot of people out there who can make it by on half the stretching, or less, that I do, and that's fine for them, for me, I find I get knotted up pretty easy so stretching, both before and after class, is more important in my routine. Knowing your body and looking after it is key, especially on the road. I brought along a stretching belt and some sort of massaging ball I forget the name of, it's in the shape of two lacrosse balls put together, works great for getting knots out and really working my hips and lower back. Together they take very little room and were key for keeping in proper condition throughout the week.
After my rejuvenation routine I would make notes about each class, I spoke about this before the importance of writing down everything, this week with the busy schedule, and sheer amount of awesomeness being thrown my way, I didn't always have time to write everything down in time, but always, after each class, I would make notes on the name or brief description of each technique covered so that I could go back and write a more in depth note later. I find this helps a lot, it's like making point notes for public speaking, for those who have ever done any public speaking or presentation courses, to help remember it and go over it more in depth. And I really do find it helps dissect the technique and learn it better.
After a few hours of down time, usually spent entirely doing my routine and note taking, it would be time for the evening classes. It was more of same high quality instruction with high quality students. Most were extremely athletic, some were very calm rolling while others felt like they were showing the new guy their best game. I kept to my light game of defence, working on some techniques shown during class that I figured with more training will definitely help out my game. After a class of high intensity rolling I was thinking about all the places I've been to and the different intensities of rolling. This something that always comes up and I've had this discussion several times with various people, I was even asked at one point about where I thought club's rolling was compared to other clubs. I could only really say "It's been pretty much what I expected, high quality guys with some really aggressive games" Comparing clubs is always an awkward conversation because everyone rolls differently, not just within each club but also with other people from other clubs. Some places are more competition based, some more self-defence, some more just for fun. Each place attracts different people too. At my club I am not a small person, but at Foster's I definitely felt small. Comparing in all in perspective but i have made some obseravtions.  I've rolled with my share of white belts and across the board 99% of them always have that 'still learning to roll without making it a deathmatch but ultimately it's still a deathmatch' technique to them. I've ran into a few that were calm and chill, and that triggers the spidey-sense "What experience do they have behind this white belt?" I always wonder that no matter the colour of the belt with but at least when they go 'all white belt spazzy' you pretty much know what to expect. A lot of over exertion. I rolled with a few this week that were cool and calm, after rolling with one a blue belt told me "Watch out for that guy, he doesn't roll like a white belt" to which I responded "Indeed, always fear the white belt with the calm game for what tricks he's hiding" We both laughed, but I maintain it's true.
Blue belts I've found can be completely different across the board, from someone still using a lot of strength but with better fundamentals to someone who's got a smooth game plan down and rolls more like a senior belt. Some are very athletic and roll like it's a gold medal match while others keep it light and chill all the time. I always try to keep within my calm and fun game plan, after all there's no sense in turning it up at school you're visiting, you're more likely to get hurt or maybe even flare up some ego issues. I have no ego on the mats, I see every game as an opportunity to learn and I have no problem tapping. And I did a lot of tapping this past week. Actually, when I'm rolling and being crushed, just working on my defence, and I hear and see them really working it, breathing hard and sweating away, to get their dominant position or submission, I take it as a compliment, having made them work that hard.  Blue belts I would say are the most different from one school to another.
As for higher belts I've found they're usually very smooth and sometimes play with me, turning up the game when ever they want but generally keeping it light. I have nothing to gain trying to go hard on a higher belt in a club I'm visiting, you earn more respect by respect each others game. In fact while rolling with some higher belts this past week I noticed there was a certain sweep that kept happening and I had no defence for it. After rolling with a black belt I asked him about it, in about 2 minutes he just reshaped my guard game. Had I had a more aggressive game I might have missed that piece of information. Keep it playful, you learn more.

After a No gi class with Big Rick (Green Later shirt) guy's a legend!

At the end of the week, on the last day of training no less, I woke up feeling absolutely mauled. There was no way I could make the last classes of training without a likelihood of hurting myself. After 18 hrs of training that week I was competly beat. I was looking forward one particular class they had that included strikes that day, as a person who started training in the Japanese art first I've always be partial to strikes and having a strong foundation in self defence, so I was really looking forward to see how that class was taught, another time I guess.
I wish I had more to write about, and had more pictures, but really that's all I did, train and rest. My experience at Foster BJJ was awesome, I would like to try and list all the amazing people there that made me feel at home but there's so many I'll just leave it at thanks you everyone at Foster BJJ and of course thank you to Coach Foster himself for letting me come and train there! I learned so much and look forward to working several key techniques into my game as well as revisiting the club in the future, there is a seminar next month and I plan on making the trip for the weekend. Now off to see Professor Keith "The Rhino" Owen and his Ultimate Karate and BJJ in Meridian, Idaho, where I am now as I write this. I'm currently dealing with being sick on the road, and have missed a few classes, look forward to an update on that, it's something commonly overlooked. Until then, keep on rolling!

Waiting for the early morning Taxi to the airport, off to Meridian Idaho!