Thank to TJ and Rick for taking ukemi. Shot with a high speed camera designed for scientific use at 300 frames per second, although we had capacity for 6000 fps! A little bit martial and a little bit of art. You can view a higher quality version here.
Here’s a great Aikido demo performed by Pat Hendricks and Tom Gambell, both Iwama trained stylists. Note the quick, rounded ukemi. Both are now 6th degree black belts. This demonstration was held in 1984 at Shihan Frank Doran’s Redwood City dojo, immediately after my teacher, Julio Toribio, performed his second degree black belt demonstration. Enjoy the flow.
A nikyo being applied. This and other major techniques of Aikido will be explored on the wristlock DVDs.
August is a huge month for the Academy, and I wanted to give an overview of the upcoming weeks.
August 5: The first advanced, blue belt only class. 7 p.m. on Tuesday night. Also, I have a private lesson scheduled with our friend Eric Hansen, a Systema practitioner from Seattle.
August 10: Filming for the “Aikido and Wristlocks” 2 DVD set. I plan on releasing this set and the Purple Belt Requirements at the same time!
August 21: Jeffrey Schauland tests for the blue, 8:15 p.m., Thursday night. Be there!
August 23: Finish filming for the Aikido and Wristlocks DVDs.
August 30: No Saturday class! RDA paint party at the new facility from 12-4 p.m. Come put your mark on the new dojo! Also, Stephen Greenaway and the UK crew will be arriving for their 10 day stay.
September 1: First day at the new location!
Dan Camarillo. Armhunter. One of my jiu jitsu inspirations. Incredible footsweeps. Swooping uchimatas. Killer instinct. And flow. Dan was smooth and would roll through tournaments being cool and collected. A beautiful, and effective combination of Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Click here for a higher quality version.
Music by Nine Inch Nails, 3 Ghosts I.
Academy Member Glen Farris recently conquered Mr. Reinier, and shared a few glipses of his adventure. I found them breathtaking. Congratulations on your success conquering this mountain, and the others which we will all face. Bravo!
It was an honor to be on the mat with him. Note the difference in the belts!
Julie and I pose as the sun peeks out from the backyard of Gracie Barra Business Manager Robert Grunder.
I’ve returned from my trip to Alaska, where I did another seminar for the Gracie Barra school, and spent some quality time with my family. My brother was also able to make it up from Monterey, so we had an almost bona fide family reunion, sans my sister. This was my last traveling leg for the summer, and I’m charged up for moving into the new space September 1. I also brought back some incriminating photos of my time in Japan, along with some other videos I had stored before moving to San Diego. My schedule hasn’t allowed me to focus on generating new media (in fact, I’ve barely had time to fulfill my DVD orders), but all that is going to change. I am putting together highlight videos for both Dan Camarillo and Raphael “Gordinho” Correa, as well as completing an outline of my next 2 DVD sets. Stay tuned.
With a small crew that included Jerry Cunningham, Paul Heatherman, Chris Acarregui, and Donald Bowerman, RDA journeyed from Bend to Clackamas Oregon for the grand opening celebration of the Lobo Academy. The facility is fantastic, spacious and well laid out, clean and coordinated with the official colors of yellow and blue. The seminar was grade A, and each of the 50+ participants grew from the exposure to high level teachers.
Kicking off the four part seminar weekend was Rey Diego, a fourth degree Carlson Gracie black belt with an Academy in Los Angeles. Saying hello to the Professors in the morning, I was surprised that Professor Diego remembered me from a visit to his school as a purple belt, with my friend Andre Anderson, who was at that time a brown belt under Rey (he has since received his black belt and is very generous with his knowledge in the online BJJ community).
His seminar was a treat for me, going over single leg variations, a fantastic sweep with the De La Riva Hook, followed by a beautiful choke/armlock submission chain from the S mount . I had studied his DVD’s before, but nothing is like seeing an instructor in person. Professor Diego is dynamic in his techniques, and a very powerful man. Technically, this was the most intensive seminar of the weekend, both in the numbers of techniques and their level of difficulty.
When partnering up, I worked with several white belts during the weekend. It was fun to be a student, ask questions, and just train. As a black belt, I was included in the line of instructors, and it was an honor to stand next to Relson Gracie (9th degree), Pedro Sauer (7th degree), Luis Heredia (4th degree), and Rey Diogo (4th degree). Allen Hopkins, a second degree black belt instructor under Professor Sauer, was also there, along with Rylan Lizarus, who was awarded his black belt by Pedro Sauer himself on the first day of the seminar. Professor Gracie and Sauer both wore the coveted red and black belts, while Luis and Rey’s black belts looked faded and worn. Mine looked very dark in comparison. One could almost say it was brand new.
I watched Rylan roll a bit with one of the purple belts from the club he founded in Corvallis, before moving to Hawaii. I was duly impressed, as it was light, technical, with plenty of hand feints and true economy of movement. Rylan and I got to have a smooth and fluid roll at the end of the first day, when the colored belts were asked to demonstrate live jiu jitsu for the white belts, with a few different partners. Professor Sauer frequently used the term “very talented” to describe him while awarding him the black belt, which should say it all!
Professor Sauer led the afternoon session, and after years of hearing how exceptional his instruction is, I was not disappointed. Articulate and professional, he radiated positivity and I instantly knew why he had been voted “Best of the Best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Instructor” in a worldwide poll conducted by the renowned Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC), and is considered to be one of the most technical BJJ professionals in the world. If you haven’t seen it already, his fight against Mr. Utah is a classic in Gracie Jiu Jitsu history.
Luis Heredia was Rickson Gracie’s right hand man for many years, coming with him to the United States as a blue belt. The techniques he showed on Sunday morning were high percentage, including a nice inside trip to ankle pick combination that I often use, followed by a double drop knee seionage, which was the cherry on top. Limao, as he is also known, was a very warm man, who shared not only his techniques but his story of how jiu jitsu is his lifestyle, affecting every aspect of his being, and shapes how he relates to others. He also spoke encouraging words to those beginning the BJJ journey, telling them there will be good and bad days of training, and that at every belt level, even he considered quitting. Professor Heredia was humble, inspiring, honest, and openly gave the a secret of jiu jitsu away: always control the head and hips.
Finally, Professor Relson Gracie shared his wealth of experience on Sunday afternoon. He shared “basic” techniques, but in a way so perfect, it made me rediscover them. His palm up palm up collar choke, which I asked him to perform on me, was unlike any other I had experienced. Fast and biting, it felt more like metal hooks than flesh and bone cutting off my blood supply. The mount defenses he showed were elegantly simple, and also took questions on the half guard, showing a few techniques I had actually never seen. His depth of knowledge and vitality were unparalleled, and I was grateful he made the journey from Hawaii to Oregon.
I also bumped into old friends, including Miguel Morejohn, who was an old training partner from Claudio Franca’s Academy. I also made new several new ones, including Chris LeBlanc, who recognized me from posting on Aikiweb. We had a quick discussion on the internal skills debate ongoing in the Aikido community, and shared a roll before lunch.
Thanks go out to Professor Anibal Lobo and Mario Sifuentez, program director for the Academy, for the invitation to participate and for running such a large event so smoothly. I will do my best to support their future seminars and continue to develop the relationship with the Lobo Academy and all the black belt instructors who generously shared their time and knowledge.
Due to the Lobo Academy grand opening in Clackamas, there will be no class or open mat this Saturday. Enjoy Summerfest in Bend, and expect to learn some of the seminar highlights next week. Also, check out to clip above to receive inspiration from Terere, former world champion. Very fast and technical. The music may not be work safe, but the action certainly is.