Vancouver BC Canada Part 1: True North Jiu-Jitsu and My Host

Greetings from Vancouver!

I will never tire of this view, every time I go to or come from the Sunshine Coast.

I'm half way through my stay here in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and things are going great! With all the different clubs I'm visiting and the interviews I'm doing I figured I would break the Vancouver post into two segments. I'll probably do this a for a number of cities I visit, this way I can make smaller more usual posts and spread out all the videos. I've also decided to space the posts out and publish one a week, rather then every time I write it up, which would put me at 3 this week. So going forth, Monday will be my target release day.

The Host, Rodrigo

This is actually my first stay with someone I didn't already know, either from training with them, as a friend or family. We only really met maybe a month ago on Facebook after Kyoshi Seamark asked around at his Vancouver dojo if anyone would be wiling to host me for the few days I'm in town. Being a great guy, Rodrigo offered me a place to stay, and has been making me feel right at home. Rodrigo trains Kokodo and is one of Kyoshi Seamark's longest students, having first started training with him in the late 90's. It was really cool to sit down and talk with Rodrigo the first night at his place and listen to the progression of the Sadohana Dojo and all the changes and different students he has seen over the years. Rodrigo is a very laid back, easy going guy and he's lived in the same place for a number of years, fixing and adding to it over time to really make it his home for his family. The place has a warm welcoming feel and it makes me feel like I'm visiting a relative. The family happened to be visiting back home in Costa Rica for most of my stay, making my visit timed perfectly for a quiet place or me not having to worry disturbing anyone at night when I come back late or just stay up typing up my experiences. Although when they did come home I felt guilty for stealing his son's bed for the time I was there, he had no problem with it though, being happy to help a guest. It's also cool that Rodrigo's place is just a few blocks away from the dojo as well, so it was easy enough just to walk over when I made it to class. One night after training all us, myself, Rodrigo and his kids, went out for dinner and a movie, they took me to a sushi place they frequent to and ordered a bunch of things I've never tired before. Since, I'm on this journey of a lifetime I told myself I'd try new things, might as well start now! Apparently eel isn't that bad after all. I've been treated so well staying with Rodrigo and his family these days I really feel blessed to have such great friends to make this possible. Thank you for all your hospitality, Rodrigo I don't think I can ever repay you!

Finally got a picture with Rodrigo before leaving. Thank you for everything, Sir, such an awesome host! 

True North Jiu-Jitsu Academy

They're stretching before class, I'm over here taking selfies, #BJJgoals

 The newly named True North Jiu-Jitsu Academy was, until recently, a Ribeiro affiliate school. Deciding to branch out on his own, Prof. Giacomo Zanini, the head instructor and owner of the academy, made the name change on go along with his new endeavors. Over the past year I've heard from many of my Jiu-Jitsu peers and mentors to drop by Prof. Giacomo's if I had the chance. After looking at the different school schedules it was decided, Wednesday evening would be the one and only time I could make it out to finally meet Prof. Giacomo and check out his class. I've kept in contact with the Professor for the last while, with always an intent for making it to his place for a class for two when in town. Earlier Wednesday I contacted him and asked if he would be up for doing an interview about BJJ with me, and graciously he accepted. Excited I packed my things and made my way through rush hour traffic on the city transit to Prof. Giacomo's club, located just outside Vancouver in Coquitlam. Once I got there I realized it was going to an intermediate class. Prof. Giacomo has broken his classes into 3 sections, beginner, intermediate, and advanced, with the beginners working primarily on movements rather than submissions, and it gradually getting more complex until the advanced classes which work more submissions and transitions. I was happy to in the intermediate class as the Professor is known for his fundamental movement drills and I could always use help in that department.

Class photo at True North, love the lineage on the wall!

The class was mostly white belts and had a very relaxed feel to it. That was one thing I noticed from the start, the welcoming vibe the club had, I felt very comfortable walking in for the first time and meeting everyone. Before class Prof. Giacomo introduced me and had me give a short explanation of my journey and it's purpose, which was fun. It's always funny to see people's reactions when I tell them about Panda's Odyssey and my intentions, I know, this is a crazy idea. Once class started we did a lot of drills with partners, the drills were very creative with incorporating all sorts of hip movement drills in with self defense scenarios. Without even rolling it was a good work out for me. Watching Giacomo teach was impressive, you easily see the passion he has for Jiu-Jitsu as he taught. His eyes lit up and his voice was louder, and he was excited to show every little detail. The signs of a man truly dedicated to the art. It was a privilege to be in his class. After class we took a group picture and the Professor and I sat down and did an interview together. In the interview we go over about his epic journey from young IBJJF World's competitor in Brazil to eventually finding his way to Vancouver BC Canada, as well as his thoughts on training goals for beginners and how to fight the 'Blue Belt Blues'. Check out the video below:      

In case the video doesn't work for you, the link for it on my YouTube channel is HERE. (Subscribe to the channel why you're at it please!)

Obligatory post interview selfie with Prof. Giacomo. 

During the video you can here the sounds of people being thrown and see the camera shake a little. While chatting we were watching two students work on their Judo throws, and given and awesome floating floor that the club has there it was pretty impressive. I can see doing Judo on those mats being really fun!

Close up on the class photo, everyone's so serious, lots of pride. 

So that's in for now. The next post will have my experiences for rest of my stay here in Vancouver, and what ever I get up to, and will cover the other clubs I plan on visiting: The Sadohana Dojo Vancouver, and a club recently referred to me, Champions Martial Arts Academy.

Until next time, see you all on the mats!
Osss!

Finally On The Road!

It has begun!!

Panda's Odyssey has officially started and I am currently hanging out in my first stop on the Canadian Odyssey list: Gibsons BC Canada!

All my gear I'm bringing. yeah, it's a lot.

The bags I'm using. Everything actually fits too!

Let me first fill you in on my last week preparations before telling you all about my great experiences hanging out with my good friends at the Sadohana Dojo in Gibsons. Last week (7-11 November) was my last week in Victoria BC Canada. I had the moving company coming in to pack my place, little time to clean the apartment for the landlords inspection, the last paperwork to finish for release from the military and also the last few days to say goodbye to all my friends on the island, and especially with the club. Amazingly, it all went off without any problems. The moving company was quick to pack and load all my belongings, giving extra time to clean the apartment, enough for the landlord to approve my vacating the apartment without any extra costs for repair. The paperwork for my release was promptly finished and as of Wednesday morning I was a civilian again. Continuing from the weekend I had more board game and movie nights with friends, where all sorts of great times were had. And I had my last classes at the club, with both Tuesday and Wednesday ending with me running the gauntlet and rolling with every member on the mats. Tuesday it was only for 20 or so seconds with each person but with almost 30 people showing up, Wednesday it was about a minute with each of the dozen or so people, mostly the bigger and more advanced students showing up this time. Both nights I was exhausted and sore and also extremely happy to roll with everyone one last time. Coach filmed it live on Facebook and a lot of people watched me get my beatings, good times!

The very last selfie taken at the club, my last walk out.

But all good times come to an end and I finally had to say my farewells, it was tough. With every hug and good-bye it felt like I was leaving a part of me behind. The club, Fierce Studio, has become my family. I have found a place where I am truly accepted and finally feel like I belong. I have become the person I am, doing what I'm about to do, because of them. I will miss each and every one while on this journey. But also, I can't wait to see them all again at the end, after my travels and learning what I pick up on the way, to bringing it back to them and seeing how they've all grown as well. Like a year long training camp before the tournament between friends.

All the Fierce Family I could get pics with, there's tons I missed. I miss you all! 

During my final weeks of rolling and saying good-bye to everyone I received some very heart felt gifts. A card full of well wishes and farewells from all my friends and co-workers in the military. A photo album of me and friends over the time we spent together training and hanging out...with each picture being captioned with a threat or being of me getting beat up by them, as was our usually way spending time together. A farewell card with a very touching story of my influence helping them feel comfortable when first joining our classes. A hand fan with a cool inspiring quote for my journey. And the most recent one, figurine of a panda to bring along on with me. These mementos I will cherish always. It really hit home, they amplified the praises and well wishes I was receiving from everyone and as I look at them now I'm reminded of the love back the club. It's overwhelming at times to be honest. Thinking of the people who have told me how much they love following me on any of my social media outlets (look up Panda's Odyssey practically anywhere and you're find me) and how my actions effect them is a weird feeling. I'm sure I've said it before but I never thought this journey would impact anyone else but myself. I am deeply touched.

The photo album Angel and Geoff made for me, reminding me of all the good times we had.

A very cool fan I received, I believe the quote reads "when walking in snow make sure to not make a messy path, as you are creating the trail for those behind you" awesome.

Some gifts from Gibsons, a panda figurine and their new club patch, thanks guys!

So with so many people watching me and me now without a home or a job there's no turning back.

First stop: Gibsons!

Everything packed and on my way out of the hotel i was staying at while my apartment got packed up.

A sunny day on the waters, good sign to a the start of this journey! 

Although the trek over to Gibsons from the island took a while everything went off without any problem and I was once again welcomed with open arms by the Sunshine Coast, staying with my good friend and Jiu-Jitsu brother Yoshi. camping out again in Yoshi's 'Man cave' in the garage is quite the treat and a great first stop and place to relax from all the action of last week. I made the joke later in the stay that I've set the bar too high starting at his place. The Sadohana Dojo is a smaller club but very close knit with highly driven students who together have pushed each other to develop their games very well. It's always a pleasure to train with them, whether it be me visiting them in Gibsons or them coming to visit us in Victoria. I have tried to roll with each one, and with most, more than once, and it's great to see how our games have progressed. In the always growing and changing sport of Jiu-Jitsu it's never the same roll twice, especially when there are months in between each roll. In the end it's still the same outcome: Fun!

Getting crushed during the Gibsons gauntlet.

Another gauntlet match with a Jiu-Jitsu brother.

Saturday morning there is a unique class run by Yoshi that has the first half of it as a conditioning class for BJJ. It's a non-stop workout of short time intervals of all different kinds of movement drills. In the end you have a good sweat on, or, if you're like me and not used to the class, you're pretty tired by the end of it. It's a great workout and I don't know where Yoshi got the sets of drills or how he came across them all but two things are certain: 1. I'm glad they don't do it every class or I'd be dead before the week was out, and 2. After 6 weeks of doing these Saturday classes I'm sure anyone would see an improvement in their Jiu-Jitsu game.

Yoshi, crushing me, I'm pretty sure I survived, but there's no pic of that...of course, haha!

Saturday night we got together and watched history unfold in the tremendously stacked UFC 205 event that saw Connor McGregor become the first ever world champion in two weight classes at the same time. It was a night filled with stories, laughs and excitement, reminding how great a bunch of guys they were and how perfect this was for the first stop of Panda's Odyssey.

The Viking VS The Panda...you win this time Marcel...this time.

Monday saw my last class with the Sunshine Coast guys who all decided to follow suit with the good-byes Fierce Studio did and have their own gauntlet with me. They're all a bunch of savvy beasts and I wish I could say I held them off but I'd be lying. Great times were had rolling with them all nonetheless, I will miss these guys.

Group shot with Sadohana Dojo Gibsons, love these guys! 

Yoshi, I owe him so much for taking care of me!

Marcel the Viking, going to miss you!

Jason, the BJJ coach, glad we got to catch up, next time I'll see you on the mats!

Kyoshi Michael Seamark, always a blast!

Kokodo Jujutsu

There was a Kokodo Jujutsu class Monday night as well. If you're unfamiliar with Kokodo it's a style of Japanese Jujutsu that excels in controlling techniques, primarily wrist locks. I've heard it described before as the art of manipulating the spine through the wrists. I just call it Black Magic. There is also a pressure point aspect to it all and in the higher ranks the syllabus includes Shiatsu as well.

A proper Kokodo picture with Kyoshi, again, his teachings are amazing!

The Kokodo classes are taught by the head instructor Kyoshi Michael Seamark, who runs the Sadohana Dojo Gibsons as well as the Sadohana Dojo in Vancouver, my next stop. Kyoshi is a very high rank, in fact Mr. Seamark holds the highest rank directly under the founder Soke Irie Yasuhiro and is the head representitive for North and South America. To better explain Kokodo, I sat down with Kyoshi Seamark after class Monday, here's the interview:

Here's the link to my YouTube channel (subscribe to it!) in case the video doesn't work: Kyoshi Seamark Interview

Some Kokodo with Yoshi

More Kokodo

Yoshi's turn at applying the technique, or rather, my turn to feel it.

After Monday's classes it was time to pack up my gear and get ready for traveling to my next stop, just next door in Vancouver BC Canada! I said my good-byes to the guys at the club, thanked Yoshi and his family for all their hospitality in letting me stay with them and looking after me again and then I was off, spending day in city traffic.

One last picture together, thank you for everything my Jiu-Jitsu brother!

Hope you enjoyed, I'll have my next post soon!

Until next time, see you on the mats!
Osss!

Canadian Odyssey Itinerary Update!

Hey!

Here is the new updated itinerary for the Canadian Odyssey (as of 11 Oct) I have added all the travel days so you can see when I'll be on my way to the next stop on the list. With all the bus tickets bought there (hopefully) won't be any changes for what cities I'll be in at what date, but the gyms might differ a little bit, hopefully just adding new clubs to see while in the area. I added links to the new gyms on this list that aren't on the old list (the best I could anyways, The Can-Ryu Jiu-Jitsu in Calgary was hard to find, it's in a community centre listed as 'Ninja Martial Arts'), to view the old list and all the links View The Last Post Here.

Date	Place	Club
Starting Travel Day: 10 Nov (Morning)
10 - 14 Nov	Gibsons, BC	Sadohana Dojo & Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu Gibsons
Travel Day: 15 Nov (Morning)
15 - 20 Nov	Vancouver, BC	Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu Vancouver
	Vancouver, BC	Sadohana Dojo Vancouver
Travel Day: 20 Nov (Overnight, Arrive Morning of 21 Nov)
21 - 26 Nov	Calgary, AB	BJJ Fightclub
	Calgary, AB	Can-Ryu (Deer Run Community Centre)
	Calgary, AB	Lizard BJJ
Travel Day: 27 Nov (Morning)
27 - 30 Nov	Edmonton, AB	Method BJJ
	Edmonton, AB	Arashido
Travel Day: 30 Nov (Overnight, Arrive Midday of 1 Dec)
1 - 4 Dec	Regina, SK	Sweepscience
	Regina, SK	Complete MMA
Travel Day: 5 Dec (Morning)
5 - 9 Dec	Winnipeg, MB	Gracie Humaita Winnipeg
Travel Day: 9 Dec (Overnight, Arrive Morning of 10 Dec)
10 - 13 Dec	Thunder Bay, ON	Leading Edge MMA (10th planet)
Travel Day: 14 Dec (Morning)
14 - 19 Dec	Sudbury, ON	Troop MMA
Travel Day: 20 Dec (Midday)
20 Dec - 1 Jan	Petawawa, ON	Evolution BJJ Petawawa
Travel Day: 1 Jan (Evening)
2 - 8 Jan	Toronto, ON	Xtreme Couture Toronto (Nova Unaio)
	Toronto, ON	Nova Unaio Toronto (Budokan BJJ)
	Toronto, ON	Openmat
Travel Day: 9 Jan (Morning)
9 - 12 Jan	Hamilton, ON	Ouroboros BJJ
	Hamilton, ON	Jeff Joslin's MMA
Travel Day: 13 Jan (Morning)
13 - 15 Jan	St. Catharines, ON	SBG BJJ Niagara
Travel Day: 16 Jan (Midday)
16 - 19 Jan	Kingston, ON	Tiger's Den Jujutsu
	Kingston, ON	Grizzly MMA
Travel Day: 20 Jan (Midday)
20 - 26 Jan	Ottawa, ON	Evolution BJJ Gatineau
	Ottawa, ON	Hiscoe Jiu-Jitsu
	Ottawa, ON	Team Ronin MMA
Travel Day: 27 Jan (Morning)
27 - 30 Jan	Montreal, QC	Gracie Barra Montreal
	Montreal, QC	Tristar Gym Montreal
	Montreal, QC	10th Planet BJJ Montreal
Travel Day: 31 Jan (Morning)
31 Jan - 5 Feb	Quebec City, QC	Yoseikan Jujutsu Quebec
	Quebec City, QC	Brazilian Top Team Quebec
Travel Day: 5 Feb (Midday, Arrive Morning of 6 Feb)
6 - 10 Feb	Fredericton, NB	Synergy BJJ
Travel Day: 10 Feb (Evening)
11 - 13 Feb	Moncton, NB	Victory BJJ
Travel Day: 14 Feb (Midday)
14 - 16 Feb	Halifax, NS	Tintan's Fitness Academy
Travel Day: 17 Feb (Morning)
17 - 21 Feb	Sydney, NS	Zombie Proof BJJ
Travel Day: 22 Feb (Morning)
22 - 28 Feb	St. John's NL	St. John's BJJ & Judo

One Month Away!!

Just the as title says, we're one month away from finally starting the Odyssey!!

I have a few things to share with you all in this article, it's been a busy past week or so, lots coming together. I just did an interview with a good friend and athlete, Matt Kaiser. I also did an article for a friend of mine's website, Open Guard. More on those further down in the post, but first let's recap with the Odyssey and share with you the current itinerary for the Canadian Odyssey. There's not a lot of picture's in this one, sorry, but tons of info and links!

The Canadian Odyssey

With a month away I'm now starting to book places and buy tickets for the journey, which is pretty much all planned out and ready to go. I'm still hoping to find a place to crash in a few cities but I've found cheap hostels close in the area so I'm not in dire need, but saving a few dollars is always good. To be honest I'm blown away with all the help I've received and how accepting everyone is, not just in Canada but around the world. I went in hoping for the best when I started researching this whole idea almost 3 years ago. I was very hopeful with what I found and started planning over a year ago. Let me tell you I have not been disappointed in the least and get blown away on the regular by how helpful the Jiu-Jitsu community has been!

I have a lot going on for Europe and Asia and a lot more still to do before I fly over there but for now here's the official Panda's Canadian Odyssey itinerary:

*EDIT* I have updated the Itinerary, complete with travel dates and added locations and clubs, you can View The New Itinerary Here.

Date Place Club 10 - 14 Nov Gibsons, BC Sadohana Dojo & Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu Gibsons 15 - 19 Nov Vancouver, BC  Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu Vancouver  Vancouver, BC  Sadohana Dojo Vancouver 20 - 27 Nov Calgary, AB BJJ Fightclub Calgary, AB Emergent Martial Arts Calgary, AB Lizard BJJ 28 Nov - 4 Dec Regina, SK Sweepscience Regina, SK Complete MMA 5 - 9 Dec Winnipeg, MB Gracie Humaita Winnipeg 10 - 14 Dec Thunder Bay, ON Leading Edge MMA (10th Planet) 15 - 19 Dec Sudbury, ON Troop MMA 20 Dec - 1 Jan  Petawawa, ON  Evolution BJJ Petawawa  2 - 8 Jan Toronto, ON Xtreme Couture Toronto (Nova Unaio)  Toronto, ON Nova Unaio Toronto (Budokan BJJ)  Toronto, ON Openmat 9 - 12 Jan Hamilton, ON  Ouroboros BJJ Hamilton, ON  Jeff Joslin's MMA 13 - 16 Jan St. Catharines, ON SBG BJJ Niagara  17 - 20 Jan Kingston, ON Tiger's Den Jiu-Jitsu Kingston, ON Grizzly MMA  21 - 26 Jan Ottawa, ON Evolution BJJ Gatineau Ottawa, ON Team Ronin BJJ Ottawa 27 - 30 Jan Montreal, QC Gracie Barra Montreal Montreal, QC Tristar Gym Montreal Montreal, QC 10th Planet BJJ Montreal 31 Jan - 5 Feb  Quebec City, QC Yoseikan Jujutsu Quebec Quebec City, QC Brazilian Top Team Quebec 6 - 9 Feb Fredericton, NB Synergy BJJ 10 - 13 Feb Moncton, NB  Victory BJJ 14 - 17 Feb Halifax, NS Titan's Fitness Academy 18 - 21 Feb Sydney, NS Zombie Proof BJJ 22 - 28 Feb St. John's, NL St. John's BJJ & Judo
Although these dates are pretty much set the gyms I visit while at those places are open. I plan on visiting all these gyms at least once, if anyone wants me to come train with them when I'm in town let me know and maybe we can work something out. I'm always up to dropping by a new gym and making new friends. I tried linking each gym to it's page, let me know if it doesn't work.
Open Guard
To fully explain Open Guard I have to go back to when I first started researching this whole dream, over 2 year ago. I made my very first post on BJJ Globetrotters and was asking for help about ideas and where to look for all kinds of information. One of the first people to respond to me was a fellow ex Navy guy from Australia, Luke Docherty, inviting me out to his place to come train once i ever made it over that way. We've kept in touch ever since, keeping each other focused on our goals and running ideas off each other. While I was researching and planning for the Odyssey, Luke started Free Rollers, a summer event that's been gaining a lot of steam getting all the clubs in Australia together for outdoor open mat sessions. Then he went on to create Open Guard, a cool Australian based Jiu-Jitsu website with all kinds of articles, interviews, cool Jiu-Jitsu gear being sold and, my favourite, a directory of all the clubs in Australia, and some in the USA as well, with open door policies for everyone to come roll with them. Very cool. A few weeks ago, when I mentioned that it's coming up to my last month of preparations for the Odyssey, Luke got a hold of me and told me to write up an article to promote my site and the whole journey on Open Guard. I was totally blown away to and after a week or two of writing and corrections and re-writing I finally put together an article I was happy with and sent it over to Luke and Open Guard. After not even a week later and my article was published! Check it out Here at Open Guard: Panda's Odyssey Article. Thanks Luke for the opportunity to get my word out to your crowd! You all should head over to Open Guard and show them some love!
Interview With Matt Kaiser Finally, after a bunch of schedule conflicts I was able to sit down with my good friend Matt Kaiser. If you don't know the name he is one of the EBI originals, participating in both the first EBI and EBI 2. On top of that and the many medals he's won in competition he's also the Canadian Lightweight Combat Wrestling National Champion of 2015 and 2016 as well as the World Lightweight Combat Wrestling Champion of 2015 and is looking to retain that title this month in Hungary. Combat Wrestling isn't very big in Canada or across the world in some parts but it's growing fast. Last year's championship was the first international event and I got to chat with him and see what makes him tick and get a little inside view of how it felt being involved in a new sport or a new platform for the sport in the case of EBI. Here's the video, hope you enjoy! Here's the links to where Kaiser's club is located, Forge Gym, Matt Kaiser's YouTube channel and the World Combat Wrestling site, I also added them in the info for the video on YouTube. Here's the link to my channel if the video doesn't work here or if you want to check out my other interviews I have posted: Panda's Odyssey YouTube Channel.
Well that's it for now, time to start packing and getting ready to get on the road and finally turn this dream into a reality! My next post will probably be my first stop on this journey so keep watching for that, and I swear I will make up for the lack of pics in the post too! Until next time, see you all on the mats! Oosss!!

Amazing BB4BF Seminar and New Videos!

Lots in this post, with tons of pictures and a few videos, but with so much to talk about it's totally worth it!

The BB4BF West Coast Seminar

Wow!

What else can I say?! I signed up to go to a seminar fundraiser for a great cause knowing that it was going to be a great weekend, but I did not realize it would be that amazing!

One of the group pics from the weekend.

Let's start with the 'What?' Black Belts For Butterflies is a charity seminar that raises money for local organizations that help children with autism. The founder and head guy who pretty much puts this whole thing together single handedly, Rich McKeegan, is one kind hearted gentleman who reminds us all that life is bigger than just us. I don't know how he finds the time to put all this together but it was one busy weekend packed full of top notch black belts showing off great techniques. All sorts of sponsors were giving away cool stuff and setting up some raffles to help the charity even more. The story behind how Black Belts For Butterflies got created is a very touching one and I don't think I could reiterate it properly so here's the link for the full story: How and Why BB4BF Was Created

The man himself, Rich McKeegan.

Now let's cover the 'Where?' BB4BF is usually held in Connecticut, where it was founded. This time Rich decided to do something different and get out to a new place and help that area with this powerhouse fundraiser he's created. As it happens he decided to come to Seattle, just across the pond from me, to the home of another man with the heart of gold, James "300" Foster's club, Foster BJJ in Kent, WA. Coach Foster is always a joy to see and I was looking forward to seeing old friends at his club, added with the A-list instructors teaching and helping a good cause it was a triple threat weekend, I couldn't say no.

The giant, James Foster. I like getting pics with him and feeling so small.

You're probably asking 'Who was there instructing? Who was on this A-list?' Quite honestly the list is long and I know I left a few people out but here's an attempt to list out who I saw: Master Renato Laranja, Kurt Osiander, The Adamson Brothers, Keith Owen, Rob Magao, Hillary Wright VanOrnum, and of course James Foster and bunch of his black belts like Michelle Wagner, Big Rick Geist and Big Mike Baltierra. Giving out swag for the raffles were sponsors like Choke Ahola, Monkey tape, OSS Clothing, and of course Shoyoroll.

Kurt Osiander being camera shy as usual.

Nate Adamson, or 'The Pretty One' as Renato call him.

Keith Owen, Rob Magao. photobomb by Leila.

A pic of all the instructors from Day 1.

 Ok I know that was a lot of links but you'll find it was worth all the name dropping so I can quickly tell you all how the weekend now, sorry to those I missed. I wasn't able to get pictures with everyone but I posted what I could.

BB4BF shirt I got at the seminar

Lea of Choke Aloha, I love their designs, like the Lucky Cat all over the seminar.

After a long day of busy traffic I made it the Friday night open mat. It was a fun experience of meeting old friends, making new ones, and getting some fun rolls in. I also had a greatly amusing chat with the Adamson Brothers and Renato Laranja about women and dating while eating the best Ahi Poke in Seattle (seriously, he's #1 I don't like eating raw fish and I loved it and gladly ate it up!) AJ of Shoyoroll was handing out t-shirts to lucky people, and I so happened to be a lucky person. Given that I got a shirt for the open mat I was already up 2 new shirts before the seminar even began, and I planned on picking up swag at the seminar, as I always do, so this weekend was off to a good start for new swag! After the long day of traveling for the golden few hours at Foster's I headed back to the hotel to rest up for the big seminar the next day.

Shots from the open mat. It was packed!

 Saturday morning I was rested and ready to go, it started off great with the pleasant surprise that the hotel I was staying at had a decent breakfast selection, complete with fresh baked biscuits to go along with all the other breakfast goods, fruit and yogurt. The week leading up to the seminar I had asked around for a ride to and from the hotel. As I ends up I made a new friend, Leila, who volunteered to give me a ride as well as others from my club, Coach Ari and Dan, who were staying downtown Seattle. Leila is from Texas so Seattle and the area was new for her to get around as well, but we managed and had a great weekend together, thanks again Leila for the rides and fun chats!

A rare picture with Leila, one where she's not photobombing or attacking me.

Both days the seminar started off with a touching story about Jiu-Jitsu bringing the community together to help out and be more than just for making yourself better but also the community around you better as well. I can't even try to re-phrase what Rich McKeegan described both days or Jer Sr's story about his son, Jer Jr but they touched me greatly, and I will hold those stories to my heart forever.

Rich talking to everyone about being a positive force on the community.

Jer Sr. Talking to us about his experiences with the community that helped him and his son out.

One of a kind gi, in memory of Jer Jr.

Once the tears were swept away we got into some great Jiu-Jitsu techniques. There were over 100 of us on the mats and every time we switched up instructors I tried to move around and work with someone new to meet new people and make new friends, it's half the fun going to seminars. The instructors, being both so experienced and passionate about the art the tiniest of details were shown for even the simplest move. I found I learned, or re-learned, so much over the weekend, maybe even too much by the end of the day. By supper time I was ready for a nap and call it a day.

The greats having a chat, probably about crazy expert level stuff.

Coach Foster showing us how to manhandle someone.

The Adamson Bros. chilling, drilling and looking good.

Saturday night the fights were on, so an early night of rest was out of the question. A bunch of people from the seminar had reserved seats for the UFC fights at a bar and I was able to get one of them. As tired as I was I'm glad I made it out. Hanging with the people from the seminar, all of which people I had just met that day, was a great experience as we watched possibly the best card of the UFC ever, at least in a very long time. It was a great night of building friendships, I look forward to more like them as I travel.

Making friends like these is what makes the seminars all worth it.

Another great friend made from the weekend, another place to see and train at in the US one day.

Sunday was more of the same, driving around with Leila as she picked on my Canadian accent, moving speeches followed by amazing Jiu-jitsu techniques and more meeting and making new friends. This is was my first seminar with Kurt Osiander, a man who's legend far precedes him. I knew he was very blunt in his teaching and talking, seriously not for the faint of heart as he has no filter, but he was also pretty funny and very detailed in this instructions. His personal flare added to the teaching made remembering easier. My favourite experience with him though is that he gladly made a video with Coach Ari and I to a training partner and good friend, Geoff, who happens to be a big Kurt Osiander fan. The video in harsher words criticized Geoff for not making it out to the seminar, it's a one of a kind video that anyone Kurt Osiander fan would to have made for them, hahah.

Kurt Osiander showing us how to drop people on their heads or their asses, as he said.

Renato Laranja, a spectacle as usual, showing some great details to the guillotine.

My black belt instructor, as well as Coach Ari and Dan's instructor, Kieth "The Rhino" Owen closed the seminar. On top of his usual great techniques for both self defence and tournament Jiu-Jitsu, he also spent his time dropping his signature knowledge bombs about life on all those who attended. I always love seeing Mr. Kieth at a seminar because he always has something I take away about training or thinking, something more than just good techniques. He's really a coach in life, not just on the mats.

Knowledge bombs, covering the small details, and always being comfortable, those are the important parts to a good seminar.

Remember folks, the professor is always watching...

After the seminar we had the raffles and I won two more shirts, one from Choke Aloha, who I love watching on Instagram with all their cool logos, and another Shoyoroll shirt. During the seminar I also picked up a BB4BF t-shirt and patch to add to my collection. That brought the end total of 5 t-shirts for the weekend, not bad, but I only kept 2 of them, the others I gave as gifts to friends back home, afterall, I can't bring all my shirts with me when I travel. There were all kinds of winners of all kinds of swag, it was like Christmas really, what a great end to the weekend.

Big Mike and Zach Baltierra. A year ago Zach was fighting for his life against cancer. I was so happy to see him well and on the mats at this seminar.

Another group shot from the weekend. So many great people in there.

A Panda's Odyssey Promo With Renato Laranja 

As the seminar ended everyone was running around taking picture with one another and while I was able to take pictures with almost everyone I wanted to, I also was able to sit down with Master Renato and make a hilarious promo video for this blog. I was so grateful for him doing this for me, as it's getting it's share of rounds online. here it is in case you haven't seen it yet. I warn you it's a bit crazy, we didn't plan out anything beforehand and so I just went with whatever Renato was saying, hahaha.

Here's the link to the YouTube page: Renato Promo

An Interview With Keith Owen

Later on in the week once we got back to Victoria BC, since Mr. Keith was visiting for a short while we managed to fit in an interview. It was a very fun, informative and interesting interview. I like chatting with Mr Keith, he's just one of those people you always enjoy talking with, like if you go to a house party to always look for the one person you know has all the interesting stories. Here's the interview, it's about an hour long, even though it only felt like a quick chat with him. Enjoy!

 
Here's the link if the video doesn't work: Keith Owen Interview

Well that's it for now, hope you enjoyed, I got a few more things in stores before starting the journey in Nov. so stay tuned. If you want to help me out on my journey and see more of these videos made please sign up to my crowd funding site. There's all kinds of cheap plans you can sign on to and there's cool rewards with bigger pledges, check it out! Panda's Odyssey Crowd Funding Page!

Thanks everyone! Until next time, see you on the mats!