The Draw of the Cage

So this is something I had written a while ago. It was published in a magazine in Miami. The guy failed to pay me, and failed to send me a copy of the magazine so in retaliation I am posting MY creative property. Since he did not buy the article, its mine to do with as I please… so enjoy!

In the middle of an MMA class, I am the least likely person you would think to see. At 5’3” and 120 lbs, I don’t seem like much of a threat. Somehow though I am drawn to the sport, not that I am sure I will ever fight in an MMA fight, but for me just watching isn’t enough. I want to understand. Thousands of people are drawn to Mixed Martial Arts. But what is it that keeps us intrigued? From the MMA fighters themselves, the people signing up for MMA fit class, to the people that just watch, and can not get enough of the show. To the casual passerby it seems brutal, almost barbaric, but as you start to study start to learn there are techniques, game plans, fakes, strategies, something more to keep the movement going.

Humans have been in battle for their entire existence.  At first it was with animals, not just between each other to survive. After humans started to cultivate and become more sedentary, humans  battled for rights over land, food, water, their basic survival. More recent this fight has turned into war; warring for money, land, honor, not just to survive. It is in our makeup to fight. But as we evolved, and created more technology the need for fighting has become a want.

Although the spectators do not want to get completely into the ring themselves, The want for the fight is there. MMA has started to fill that gap. It is the closest thing to a real fight a real battle, while still having the technique, and being somewhat safe. The momentum of the fight can carry over into what the spectators are feeling. It’s not just he won, it is “My guy won, the person I believe in, the person that I can connect with, the person I train with has succeeded.”

To an MMA fighter it’s an ultimate test. In the ideal case, they are two equals who have worked everything they know and are ready to test themselves. That one other guy wants to hurt him just as bad as he wants to hurt his opponent. The fight is almost a dance though. Each fighter knows their part knows their techniques, and his job is to make the other guy make a mistake to show their next step, to fall. Even two amateurs can have an outstanding fight with the most simple of techniques.

MMA is not to be romanticized though, for all of the reasons people are drawn to the fight, to train, to watch some are drawn for it’s most base nature, the blood. Some people are fascinated by the blood and possible brutality of the sport. While many appreciate the hard work that goes into it, humans look for the fight for the blood to see someone fail. Some are motivated by the money, but to just be motivated by money, can lead to a disastrous end.

Whether it is the primitive instinct to fight, the romanticized dance, the technique, emotion, or blood we are drawn to MMA. However we decide to participate the fighters deserve the respect for giving us something to look forward to. MMA continues to grow, continues to evolve. I plan on being there to see what happens next, who else is staying tuned?

Great news!

Sooo I have officially hit over 20,000 views on my blog!!! Thank you to everyone who reads it's an amazing feeling to see that happen!!

I am working on the Samuel Braga interview... Jet waiting for his replies! I'm trying to find a better way to interview people too..

There was a pretty awesome visitor to our school yesterday. Jeff Monson! Apparently when he is in town he visits! It's pretty cool! I had to go to work other wise I probably would have stay and just tried to soak up whatever information I could. I am a little out of his weight class so not too sure how good of a sparring partner I would have been...


Finally I need to congratulate a bunch of people from my indianapolis team.... There was a belt promotion and a bunch of people got some well deserved promotions! Congrats to Easton for getting her blue belt! Paul got his purple belt, and Buddy got his brown belt! Finally congratulations to Mr. Eric 'big mountain' Eads on getting his black belt!!!! It is a huge accomplishment and it is definitely well deserved! I'm so excited to hear of all the promotions back in Indiana! Keep training, I love you guys!!


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Losing my Aggression in Jiu Jitsu

Brazilian jiu jitsu is usually thought of as the Arte Suave, the gentle art. Aggression has it’s place in the sport, though. The aggression helps in tournaments, it helps you push through, and drive for more. I always thought I was a very aggressive grappler. I pushed the pace, went for techniques, tried whatever I could to win. Even when I was a new white belt I just kind of went for it, not in the crazy way but I kept trying to move, kept trying to do the techniques I was taught. I just went for it.

At tournaments I was even more aggressive. Looking at videos of my past competitions, I was much more aggressive as a young blue belt. I didn’t talk to anyone at the tournament that could have been in my division until after I competed. I had no fear, I wanted to win. I wanted to make everyone proud. I wanted to live up to my expectations. My theory was, what my coach taught me is good technique. I train hard, and I am getting better and better at the techniques. What I have been taught is better than what they have been taught. I am strong, confident, with better conditioning and technique. If I lose, it’s not because they are better than me but because I made the mistake. And I could tell you exactly which technique I did wrong. I remember explaining this to a teammate in Indianapolis once, he gave me a weird look and told me that’s not how I should think, I should make friends and know that I’m gonna get beat at some point by someone better than me.  I’ve made friends with some of the girls I’ve competed against, but I’ve always made sure to not talk to them before competing.

I can still tell you where I went wrong after a match. Sometimes though, I’m at a loss for what I need to do right. My technique is right, but I just can’t do it… My coach Robert says it’s because I’m not being aggressive, I’m not pushing, I’m being too passive.  Honestly that is pretty new. I can remember being aggressive. I can remember the events that made me stop being aggressive, and now that they are gone, I still have that mental block.. Now I have to push to be aggressive. I will be going and training with another team every once and a while. It’s our sister school. I’ve never been here but it is a very different school. Much more aggressive, much rougher. I’ll have to work, be aggressive and fight hard. If this is what I need to do to get my aggressive edge back I will willingly do it.

Some Injuries and Exciting News!

Number one. The days are getting longer, and I got to see the sun today!! Sorry it just made me happy to see!

Anyway I banged up my left knee and am taking the next two days off of training to get the swelling to go down. As much as it stinks to sit out, i have 2 dvds to study and 2 bjj books to look over… I think I will be okay… At least I waited until after Pan Ams to get injured…

So after I got back from Pan Ams, I decided to get a tattoo….  For me the tattoo has two meanings. It’s called the impossible triangle. Triangles can have a religious undertones, the Holy Trinity, a big thing in the Catholic religion. The big thing I wanted the triangle to represent though, was brazilian jiu jitsu. I refuse to get a team logo unless I get my black belt.. So I tried to look for a triangle… because a lot of jiu jitsu is about the triangle, the base, and made sure the triangle I got, wasn’t being used for a logo. So yea, it was a little painful, but it was definitely worth it.

I am going to be selling Fight Soap now, yay! for becoming a product rep! If you’re in Eastern WA I’ve got you covered! I can’t wait for my shipment, I know I have some of the bars sold.. If you are interested in getting a few email me at carluccikn@gmail.com.

Finally I am excited because not only do I have an article I’m writing about Aggression/ competitiveness in BJJ. I also have a black belt interview lined up with Samuel Braga, a 6 time World Champion. I’m excited to get the chance to interview him, and cannot wait! I’m looking for more people to do athlete spotlights on… Non black belts who have a story to tell something unique and something that stands out about them. If you have any suggestions I would definitely love to have them!

The Pan Ams Adventure

So Thursday I flew to Cali for Pan Ams. Apparently Brazilian time starts when you leave on the airplane for a tournament. My flight was a little late landing, and then my rise was late picking me up. Granted that’s not such a big deal, I mean Brazil time is fun. Its much more relaxed.

After an awkward night I went to the tournament, where I found out I no longer had a place to stay for the remainder of my trip. It was a nice little piece of information to be told before I competed. I tried to not think about it but it kind of got to me. I need to work on not letting what other people say get to me. As soon as I stop focusing, it usually ends up badly. Granted telling me oh yea you don’t have a ride, or a place to stay… before competing isn’t helpful either.

Enough of the complaining. I weighed in at 126 with my gi on, a good 3 lbs below where I needed to be. My first match in my division was a girl named Rikako. She is from Japan and she was a good match. She got a sweep on me, I recovered, but never got any points… Near the end of the match she went to throw a triangle and didn’t get it, but the way it ended up, my arm got caught weird, and she submitted with me with a solid armbar. You know it’s a good one when the ref sees you about an hour later, barely speaks English, and comes over to make sure you are alright. He said it bent funny. 

After that I had a few hours to wait for my Open division. I was excited because I got to meet Andre Galvao before competing. He was extremely nice, and willingly took a picture with me. I told him about how I moved to from Indiana to Washington right before his seminar in Indiana. And a few weeks before I moved to Washington he had done a seminar out there that I had missed. I would really like to go to one of his seminars, and sooner or later will find a way to go… After meeting Andre, I ended up meeting quite a few of my Facebook friends, and I even got to see some of the people i used to work with through NAGA, that was a nice treat since NAGA doesn’t come to the PAC NW.

Absolute went a little better better for me. My first match was against a female actually from Gracie Barra Seattle. She was in the heavy weight division, but was on the low end of the weight class. It was the full 7 min. which was the first time I’ve had a match go the full length at purple belt. I won on points, was kind of annoyed to see they never gave me back mount and guard passing points, but that’s a decision by the ref. After the match she and I talked and upon finding out we were relatively close to each other, we’re hoping to get together and train occasionally since even though the difference in size is there, it would be great training for the both of us.

My second match was again against Rikako. It was almost the exact same match. She pulled guard and  I worked to break guard and pass. it just never happened. She caught another triangle, I escaped and she got the advantage point. That was the only point given the whole match. I look forward to competing with her again. I think that it was a close match and have it on video again.

After competing I met two more people who I’m very happy to have met. Roberto ‘Cyborg’ Abreu, who is my friend Ruben’s coach, and surprisingly a man named Gilberto, who works for Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear. After talking to him about my gi, I mentioned I had posted a review of it. He named my blog and said he had been so excited to read it. I was so happy to hear that piece of new. For some reason it was a good bit of news at the end of the day.
Since I had lost my place to stay for the rest of my trip I ended up getting a ride to the airport and having my flight moved up a few days early. I was very upset to have to leave and not be able to watch the brown and black belts compete. Luckily one of my teammates Brent was able to give me a ride home from the airport. Overall it was a crazy tournament to say the least. It’s lit a fire under my butt. I’ve always been the big fish in a little pond, when I was in the Midwest. Now I have goals to hit and I want to keep progressing and competing at this higher level.

Support and the trip to pan ams!

Well last night after getting my hair done for the tournament, I got quite an awesome surprise from my team.



Coach Robert told me even though I couldn't grapple I still needed to come in for my send off before the tournament. I did and was very nicely surprised by the team. They had all signed a card wishing me well and Robert had two chocolates, one for before I compete and the second for recovery after I'm done competing.


It was a really awesome sentiment and I'm really grateful. Now the plan is to come back with my shield, or on it either way I'm leaving it all out there.

So now I'm in Cali. It was an easy flight... I slept the whole way on an awesome plane. Seriously if you never have flown Virgin Airways, they are pretty awesome. Very nice clean airplanes, free wifi, etc. I've been relaxing and watching my weight going through my plans for tomorrow and just staying positive. It's going to be a good tournament I am excited to compete. Thank you to everyone who has shown me support. Thank you to the Bjj Lifestyle for paying for my entrance fee. An thank you to my friends helping me out this week.

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Product Review: Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear Competition Gi

In preparation for Pan Ams I decided to get a new, light weight gi for the tournament. One of my friends had recently bought a Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear rip stop gi, and had absolutely loved it. You can find his review of it here. After looking at their website and reading about their competition gi I decided to buy one and try it out. The great thing about Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear is that when you order one thing from them they will occasionally send you promotional codes for free shipping, free gifts, or discounted prices off of their gear. Believe me it is nice to get free shipping or whatever

I ordered mine on a Tuesday and got it on Saturday. That was with 7 day shipping, so getting it in less time was a big bonus.  The gi came in a rip stop drawstring bag, and with a free gi material wallet. Those were a few nice bonuses. Nice way to sweeten the deal JJPG! I’m like a kid in a candy store when it comes to new gear. I immediately pull out the gi and am surprised by how light it is. Because I am about 5’3” and compete at 129 with my gi on I got the A1 gi. I could have gone with the A0 but, if it shrank too much it could have been a problem. I put on the A1 and it was a little long, but nothing a good warm wash won’t fix.

Note: the gi and the website warn that shrinking may happen, and tell you how to minimize shrinking that may happen with your gi.

The pants actually had a feature that was new to me, instead of just two loops for the drawstring there were actually 4 to help keep it in place. The pants have a to patches, on that has the size and washing guidelines on the hip. It also has a Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear patch down the leg. After washing it the pants shrank about an inch to an inch and a half. In defense of the gi, I washed it warm and dried it warm to make it shrink. The knees are reinforced, as well as the seams on the cuffs of the pant legs.

The gi jacket is simple. there are two patches that say Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear on the shoulders, but other than that there is space for team patches. sponsors patches, etc. The jacket is made with one piece of cloth, and it has a shorter ‘skirt’ on the bottom of the gi. It is a single weave gi which makes it completely legal for IBJJF tournaments. Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear does say they have a specific cut to their gi’s with “extra room in jacket's shoulders, underarms and back as well as extra room in pants for comfort and mobility” The space is there but it is not baggy. After washing it twice, it has shrunk to my preferred length.

I tried out the gi on Monday night class, it was a little stiff, but I hadn’t washed it yet, so it had the new gi feel to it. It was super light which was great because it was a hard practice and after rolling for over an hour straight, I has hot, but I didn’t feel like I was suffocating in the gi. It is extremely comfortable, and durable. A full week of training and it dries quickly, stands up to me being probably the smallest adult in class, and I don’t feel held back by it.  The price of the gi is pretty great as well, the White gi is priced at $119.95, the blue, navy, and black gis are $129.95. For the price and quality of the gi I am very happy. I think I will be buying mostly Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear from now on.