June 2008 Recap
A view of Alaska’s mountains, from the backyard of Robert Grunder.
This last month was the busiest yet, both personally and professionally. The first weekend of the month, my girl Julie Wilde made the move from San Diego to join me in Bend. The following weekend we ventured to Crater Lake and the big question was proposed. The next weekend was spent in Alaska for the Gracie Barra grand opening, and the first annual black belt fishing trip.
That included a night out at Platinum Jaxx, a hot nightclub in downtown Anchorage that is unlike any other club I had been to growing up in the last frontier. Paul, one of the students at Gracie Barra AK, owns the club and insisted we participate in the night’s activities. Although originally reluctant and expressing an interest in “just one drink” before returning home, a potent combination of Silver Patron tequila and Red Bull (aka “Rocket Fuel") made staying up late suddenly very easy. VIP treatment, to be sure, but some of the best parts of the evening came when stepping outside the bar and marveling at how light it was in the land of the midnight sun. The evening ended at Denny’s, which should tell you everything.
The suitcase was never put away before my next adventure, the San Jose Seminar. Margarita Jimenez hosted a 3 days workshop at her new facility Train For Life. Although we experienced 107 degree temperatures, the students were attentive and the attitude very positive as I guided them through several areas of the BJJ skill set. Paul Pedrazzi nobly assisted and did a write up of the weekend here.
The last weekend in June was spent in Portland, introducing my brother Brad and his wife Julie to my new fiance. I also squeezed in the wedding of an old high school friend, a celebratory dinner for the engagement, and some great training on Sunday with Matt McTigue, a Renzo Gracie brown belt training out of Impact Jiu Jitsu. Earlier in the week, Clem Shields dropped by the Academy for a few days, and as a brown belt under Claudio Franca, let the blue belts taste what two levels up is like. I learned techniques from both Clem and Matt, and will be working on incorporating them into my own game.
With so much going on last month, I finally feel I’ll have a chance to get caught up with my first weekend at home. Relocation to the new Academy has been postponed until September 1, due to construction delays. I also got word that 5 martial artists from the UK have purchased their tickets to train with me for 10 days around the same time. A busy summer, but I have a feeling we’ll be able to ride the momentum into the new space and take this Academy to the next level!
