Are you captivated by the meticulous art of Jiu-Jitsu? If so, we've got an episode for you that will knock your socks off. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Chris, a passionate brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu, who generously shared his journey in the sport. Chris's charisma lights up the conversation as he explores his training experiences at different gyms, his remarkable transition from wrestling to Jiu-Jitsu, and his love for being more than just a 'wrestler'. His anecdotes about his time at Brujitsu and Judizzi Therapy in Watsonville showcase the impact of diverse coaching styles on his journey.
Our conversation takes an interesting turn as Chris reflects on his life in his 40s and his unexpected love affair with Jiu-Jitsu. His stories from the competitive world of Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, and football are riveting, showing how these sports helped to shape him into a resilient competitor. From his days of junior college wrestling to studying hospitality management at San Francisco State University while actively competing, Chris's journey is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
We also relive some exciting moments from high school wrestling matches, complete with intense rivalries and unique challenges. Chris's advice for those embarking on their Jiu-Jitsu journey underlines the importance of dedication, having a coach, and the value of physical well-being. This episode is a treasure trove of inspiration, be you a Jiu-Jitsu enthusiast, aspiring grappler, or someone who loves extraordinary journeys. So sit back, relax, and get ready for an unforgettable encounter with Jiu-Jitsu.
Are you captivated by the meticulous art of Jiu-Jitsu? If so, we've got an episode for you that will knock your socks off. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Chris, a passionate brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu, who generously shared his journey in the sport. Chris's charisma lights up the conversation as he explores his training experiences at different gyms, his remarkable transition from wrestling to Jiu-Jitsu, and his love for being more than just a 'wrestler'. His anecdotes about his time at Brujitsu and Judizzi Therapy in Watsonville showcase the impact of diverse coaching styles on his journey.
Our conversation takes an interesting turn as Chris reflects on his life in his 40s and his unexpected love affair with Jiu-Jitsu. His stories from the competitive world of Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, and football are riveting, showing how these sports helped to shape him into a resilient competitor. From his days of junior college wrestling to studying hospitality management at San Francisco State University while actively competing, Chris's journey is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
We also relive some exciting moments from high school wrestling matches, complete with intense rivalries and unique challenges. Chris's advice for those embarking on their Jiu-Jitsu journey underlines the importance of dedication, having a coach, and the value of physical well-being. This episode is a treasure trove of inspiration, be you a Jiu-Jitsu enthusiast, aspiring grappler, or someone who loves extraordinary journeys. So sit back, relax, and get ready for an unforgettable encounter with Jiu-Jitsu.
Welcome back to the old grappler. We're from the coffee shop today. Today we have Chris. I'll let you introduce yourself what belt rank you are and how long you've been training.
Speaker 2:I'm a brown belt and I've been training like 2015, 2016. I have my brown belt for like two years, I guess, and I'm training. I don't have a membership at a gym. I was helping out at a gym for a little bit. That didn't work out. And then right now I'm actually paying like a drop-in fee at a really cool place called Brujitsu. That place is pretty awesome because there's a guy, dwayne, that runs it and he owns like it. They sell like brew kits, like how to brew your own beer at home, and he shows people how to brew their own beer. And then in his warehouse you go upstairs and there's like a 40x40 mat and it's a whole bunch of guys that used to be with Daniel Thomas Body Works and they just open their own spot and, sure enough, they do have a keg on tap. And so on Fridays, like last night on Fridays, you literally get off the mat, you finish rolling and that's what's called Brujitsu.
Speaker 2:But everybody there is just fucking really really cool. So where is this place? At Seaside.
Speaker 1:Seaside okay.
Speaker 2:And then, prior to that, I was actually with Raul Contetto in Watsonville at Judizzi Therapy. That place was great. That place was really great.
Speaker 1:I think that's the one on the second floor. Yeah, we went there for a coffee crew one time, yeah.
Speaker 2:And like I actually really like when I was talking to Raul, like kind of before I started joining him, he's just like I call it Judizzi Therapy because it's therapy Like you should come here, leave all your BS behind you, come on in, we just roll. And Raul is a really good instructor too. He's real technical. Like I always have this thing about you ever get like a teacher. That's a long talker.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Raul is a long talker, but he's a good long talker because he'll like. All right, I want you to like angle your wrist this way, Right here. I want you to do this. I want you to tuck your elbow. All right, your weight's going to be on your foot, Like he'll break down a specific move in a long way, but he'll break down a little part of that move, so you're doing a little bit better compared to some people. That just you know.
Speaker 2:Okay, go try it, yeah, and I think, yeah, I don't know why, like I always have these things about like different coaches that came into your life, Like so I wrestled for a little bit, yeah, we'll get into that, but I wrestled for a little bit and one of the guys that was like college coach the only guy that was my college coach was coach Jensen. Coach Jensen, actually, because when you teach at a school, like a state school, you actually get educated for free. So while he was teaching there, um, and being a coach, he would constantly go to class and so he got all these different degrees on chemistry, theology, and so I don't know if he was like a P. He was like he had several different masters and then, beyond that, and I know he had like four or five different degrees on something that based. And I think I always remember something that he said like you learn by movement, you learn by movement. Like you got to do the move to learn the moves Don't like.
Speaker 2:So when I was having the thing about long talkers, like let us do the move, so, um, but we're always a really good coach. And then he also runs the business with his wife, adriana, and she's one thing that's really I loved about, like when she taught class. She's a purple belt, she's a physical therapist, and so she would do these. Like your warmups were probably like stretching, and she did like different stretches where like worked really well and always felt better, like after her warmups, and I kind of like I'd go on Tuesday and Thursday and look forward to her warmups, like just like like move your hand this way, pop, put your palm up this way, or right here, shoulder down this way, you know what, all right, reach here or even go do this, and she break down specific stretches and broke it down really well. So I had a good time with them and everybody's really cool over there too, so nice yeah. But then I wasn't with them and then I was training for this last master, so I kind of did it myself.
Speaker 1:So what brought you into the sport of Jiu-Jitsu?
Speaker 2:It kind of resonates with I was thinking about this for a while and it kind of resonates like with the name of your podcast. I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but like a wrestle for a while, a little while, and I don't know if I was listening to like Joe Rogan podcast or somebody's podcast, but just the idea of not being a wrestler, being a grappler Right, just being a grappler. It's cool to be known as a wrestler, but I think I would like to be known as a grappler like ground. And I wasn't going to do judo, because that's not too good at an old age. And I remember years ago I was actually hanging out with somebody that did Jiu-Jitsu, like when I was living up at Sacramento, and I was kind of tipsy and I was like ah whatever.
Speaker 2:That's okay, it's cool, but I think a wrestler is going to do, oh, no, no, no. I was kind of hating on it because it wasn't wrestling. But then I think, the more that I kind of looked into it more of this, this, and I got to make it. I was also getting kind of tired of my regular workouts and I was like, all right, I got to give this a try and so I initially started up in I'm not going to name names, but I started this one gym and I don't think I got that much out of it because the way that the class structure was was like Monday, wednesday and Friday. It was like fundamental.
Speaker 2:And it was only for one hour, I mean from 6 am to 7 am, and one of the reasons why I'd go at that time is because I lived about an hour and a half away, but that place was next to my work.
Speaker 2:And so if I cut out the trap, because if I left, like at 7 am, I wouldn't get to my work till like don't nine. I'd be late. But if I left at 5.15, I could get to that gym at 6 am for 7 am more. But what was crazy is it was all wiped out in one blue belt and sometimes the instructor would literally not show up, so like by 6.10, everybody would be looking around and be like and it was a guy on an ongoing job. Is he going to show today?
Speaker 1:Oh, I don't know.
Speaker 2:And then the blue belt I guess I'm teaching class, all right and so, and that's, that's how you didn't have to go home. Yeah, at least there you know. And then so Monday, wednesday, fridays was like 30 minutes warmups, you teach to be learned. One move took off. And then Tuesday and Thursday was sparring. And I only went to one sparring class and at that time I was just like way out of shape. I think I lasted like three minutes before getting triangle and I was like, all right, I'm done and so. But I still kind of knew like I needed to do juvis too. But I, I know like my clock technically started like I think it was in November 2015. But that wasn't like a wasn't a great place.
Speaker 1:So wasn't a great initial experience.
Speaker 2:I think I kind of dip my toes in the water, but not like I wasn't like, oh my God, this is jujitsu. So, and then in April 2016,. I actually started right here, okay, but what's funny is like, and what's really weird is I don't know how I came up with it, but the day like I walked in and kind of like no, like I moved back down to Gilray, you got a divorce, she got Sacramento, I got come home to Gilray. I literally knew that like I was like all right, I got to do this for 10 years. I got to do this for 10 years. I don't care what belt I am, I don't care whatever, it's that I just got to do this for 10 years.
Speaker 2:And so I'm, in the day that I walked in here, a guy named Ed Solis was teaching. Oh, ed, you know, ed, he runs, he owns Old Manju Jitsu, okay, and he's he's a funny guy, and I just literally came in and like my business attire, I was actually just, I was like I got off work, I was like, hey, I need to, I need to sign up and pay. And he goes and like sits down and he's like wait, hold on. I haven't seen you before. You know we do a free trial, right. I was like, well, I'm just really pay, I'm just take the free money, dude, you just go, go, go, go. Yes, I'll come back next week and pay. I'm like, all right, man, okay, all right, okay. So I'll see you later. And I go, hey, do the other thing I wanted because I had the old gyms. I go, hey, do you, do I have to wear like a specific year or something like that? Nah, man, I don't give a shit, just come on. Whatever you got, ed's a character.
Speaker 2:Ed's literally like when he taught class it was called Chokes and Jokes with Ed and he was like a funny guy to like learn from. Because it's not like, you know, when you stress out like okay, okay, god, he'd be talking about like crazy jokes, when like growing up in East LA. So you know he's a funny guy. But then, like a week later I paid. But what was funny about that? And I always wanted, like forever, got my black belt through him. I would actually kind of make fun about that.
Speaker 2:I'm already sitting down and he's just like, and I'm already thinking like I don't know if I'm going to do it here, but I'm going to do the sport for 10 years and it was in my mind was like that's going to match the amount of time that I wrestled and that's going to, in my mind, validate me as a grappler, yeah, okay. So, even before I started, I just like I need to be a grappler, I want to be a grappler, I want to be known as a grappler. And so, uh, I'm in the day that I started pain and the guy told me goes, oh, yeah, yeah, if you don't like it and put used to give us a month. And I'm like, I'm a relieving, like that is not very encouraging. And so, um, and I was there for several years. And so, uh, and then I didn't even know, like I've been, I get competing for a while Jiu-Jitsu. I didn't know you could compete in Jiu-Jitsu. Oh, really no, it wasn't till like, uh, ed Solis, that guy.
Speaker 2:Uh hey man, I didn't, because then also like when I went there I didn't like come in, like hey man, I used to wrestle for a long time. Oh yeah cool.
Speaker 2:I just was like all right, cool, and I think it was, um, you know, senior can't shoot. Yes, I was rolling with them, sparring with them and he's just like you wrestled on. Oh, yeah, yeah, I wrestled. Yeah, I could tell, I could tell, I could tell. And he was just, I remember looking, yeah, I could tell, and I was like how long I was like and I'm always kind of I don't say that too much, I go well, I was in high school, uh, jc in college, huh, really, I was like, yeah, and then, uh, when it started talking, they started to talk about competitions. I remember Ed Solis was just like hey, you're going to compete and what do you like? What are you talking about? I don't want to compete with these young kids. I'm in my 40s, dude.
Speaker 1:What the?
Speaker 2:fuck. You're going to compete with guys of your own age man like me. I'm a 10-time world champ, like really A 10-time world champ Really, and I didn't know that they break it down like Bluebell, yeah, but I was like oh really, You're a 10-time world champ.
Speaker 1:Like holy shit, do I get your autograph? I'm like okay.
Speaker 2:But then, like he's like no man, you can go do this like here and then here, and then you know, we go down to LA, we, you know, go to Las Vegas. And I'm like that sounds fun, that sounds fun. And I was just also like I'm going to be get beaten up by these young kids. But yeah, if I get to compete against somebody in the 40s, yeah, sign me up. And I think also another guy that was also kind of instrumental at that time was John Mavu, and he's do you know, John is John actually helped start Gilroy, and then he ended up moving to Reno. He ended up moving to Reno and he actually is a corner of a place up there called Black Diamond, jiu Jitsu, and so, okay, and he's also a Claudio Franca black belt as well too. And he was also like encouraging, like, yeah, man, why don't you compete, why don't you compete? Good, like maybe get that fire back. And I got him in it kind of like, kind of, because, jiu Jitsu, you just go like all right, take the classes, whatever, but then competing kind of put a little bit of fire into me. All right, well, I'm going to get in shape. All right, Well, that's a goal. All right, well, I'm going to achieve that goal. Okay, I got to cut weight. I've never been good at cutting weight and bomb shitty, I'm horrible. Yeah, talk about that. And people like trip out when I tell them I never cut weight in wrestling, I was just came in under. I always just walked in whatever Like, and I people like what, no, no, no, you probably like spit in a bag or you probably I might have cut like one or two times, like two, two pounds, three pounds, but then that's it. Yeah, and I just usually just I just came on the right, so but yeah, like I think I kind of you know it was really cool. You know it was also like kind of a new experience because like they, the goo is always having like those 30 minute warmups, you know, then they show the move and then they spar. And I remember like I'm thinking like did you guys spar every, every class, and everybody in class is like, yeah, we, we spar Like holy shit, really. Okay, that's some place cool and everybody's really cool.
Speaker 2:Um, but then I also found out I wasn't really healthy, because I started like sparring more and I thought I was getting a good shape on my car, but I wasn't like lasting like the full five minutes. I was like at four minutes and I went to the doctor and they're like, oh, yeah, well, how long have you had asthma? I was like I have asthma. Like, yeah, it looks like you had it for a while. Oh shit, oh wow. And so I started to have to get the inhalers. One time I used to have like two to three different inhalers and that, after taking me forward, no two, two, a Brio and a Ventilum. I still often need them from time to time. Yeah, I meant COVID, fuck me up too. So yeah, I got a lot of post like COVID effects, so, um, but yeah, like I guess I think I found my niche in competing. The competing is fun, so I mean you got to travel a little bit with it too. So it's about it.
Speaker 1:So talk about competing Um. I know you talked about worlds. You competed at worlds a few times right, you won.
Speaker 2:Uh, I've actually only had Bluebell worlds one time. I, you know, I don't even count that one because, like it was kind of shitty, because I don't see anybody in my division at 220. And so I didn't feel like cutting weight, so I just went to Ultra Heavy. There's nobody there and they just like, oh here's a medal and I thought there'd be more people in absolutes. And initially there's like four guys that signed up and one thing that, like with me was competing, and I don't think a lot of people do this, but I research, so I'll look to see who's in the division, I'll look at their records, I'll look at their videos, I'll do, I'll do all that stuff. Before, and I saw there was two guys signed up for the absolutes that were like like good competitors. One was at a 205 guy and the other one was like a 198 two. I'm like, all right, cool, okay, I want to compete against these guys, and then they didn't show up. So then I won the absolutes to peanuts the guy that's like 135 pounds. So I don't, yeah, I won that one, but it doesn't really count. It was funny about that match also, like and we have an old video the guy pulled guards and I picked them up and walked around the mat and I brought them over to like where my, where all my team was so I'll hold on and he was like literally only like 135 pounds. And then my first masters in the G oh sure, sorry about that. Before um, I also competed at pans, like I think, I think I got my blue belt in like November, and then February we went to pans and I took second.
Speaker 2:But what sucked was I actually was I got sick, remember. I told you I like asthma. So it comes and goes. I got bronchitis and I went to the emergency room on Monday and they gave me a bunch of treatments and I, um, got the inhalers and I think I called, you know, my coaches. I go, hey, I'm not going to compete, I'm just, I'm literally. I think I sent them a picture of me in the emergency room like, hey, it's bad. And uh, by Wednesday I started to feel a little bit better and my wife, my girlfriend at the time, was like you should just compete, let's just go down there. Let's just go down there, just go compete, you're not getting your money back, just go. I was like all right, but also like she wanted us to go, because that's also where all her family is, and her favorite cousin, irma, is down there. So I don't say she has an ulterior motive, but it's like an incentive.
Speaker 2:It's actually really cool because when Pans was down there, my girlfriend, wife Eva, would just be like go, there's a tournament down there. Yeah, go, go, sign up, I'll go see my cousin, I'll drop me off and you go do your tournament. I'm like all right, cool. But now they switched Pans off Florida. But yeah, the first Pans, technically I was sick and then I went in and I lost in the finals and I got thrown, like I ended up going against the Brazilian. That was like a judo black belt and he threw me and cracked the rib and keep in mind, I was still like getting over being sick. So the drive home from Los Angeles with a cracked rib and post effects of bronchitis was not probably one of the worst drives I've ever had. So like, remember, it was like one of the few times I had it. Tell like Eva, I'm back. You know you drive. I don't like her driving, but I was like you know what you drive and I was sitting in the back like coughing crack rib. It sucked and so.
Speaker 2:But then my first worlds, I ended up losing the first round. So second round, well, you know, I lost them second round and it kind of put me back down, you know, but like the guy that I lost to and I'm winning it. So I used to joke around that tell people like for my competition I have a bunch of silvers and I lost to that guy second round. So literally only lost to like pans and world champions. That's about it. Same thing with this time. This Masters was the first time I took bronze and I blew it into the champ, so it is what it is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's crazy. So you talked a little bit about wrestling. What? What other sports besides wrestling? Or was it just wrestling before? Did you do? No, it was actually.
Speaker 2:I don't know how, like I got an idea, but I was also not bad at football. Okay. So at Gilroy I was like a two year starter. I was an outside landbacker. And then my senior year, I was a two way starter, I started in tight end. I also started an offense outside landbacker and I was a captain and kind of collated to that.
Speaker 2:Like going into junior college my family, my parents, were like, oh, you're going to wrestle, just wrestle. Because they liked the coach, and coach was actually a family friend. But one of the reasons why I chose San Francisco State at the time because I did two years of wrestling at Gavilan Junior College. And at the end of that two years I was like, fuck this, I hate the sport at fucking retire, I quit, I don't want to do this thing anymore. And I thought it was done and I was like all right, I'm going to walk on somewhere and I'll play football. And probably about a month or two months after JC JC wrestling was done, coach Jensen from San Francisco State called me and he goes hey man, would you be interested in wrestling at division two? You know we don't have scholarships, but you can do a walk on. And I was like, ah no, I, you know, I really want to play football. He's all cool, no problem. And I was like, oh, what he goes. We have a football team and I have another guy that's on the wrestling team as well as the football team, so you can play football if you want. I was like, holy shit, yeah, fuck you, I'm in. To like two sport, two sport athlete in college Fuck you, I'm in.
Speaker 2:And then, the more that I looked at San Francisco State, like I have a degree in hospitality management at the time they're number two in the West Coast in that program. Kind of close to home, I don't want to say I'm a mama's boy, but you know, don't be customer home. All my buddies literally went up to Chico and my parents were like you're going to go up there and get drunk the whole time. Just go to San Francisco State, not to say get away from my buddies, but like get away from your Gilroy friends, just be on yourself for a little while. And that was a good thing, because none of them have got degrees. And I got a degree, don't get me wrong. I used to go up to I don't want to say this on camera, but I used to go visit Chico from time to time, visit all my Gilroy buddies. One time it even got me in trouble with wrestling, but that's another story. But I saw us to bring up my San Francisco buddies up there and they'd be like, oh my God, this is called the scam.
Speaker 2:San Francisco State is like commuter school. There is no big parties. Literally the biggest party of the year, the wrestling team, threw it just at my house. I could do it with my one buddies at my level. They have crazy story about that. All right, so back to wrestling.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when did you get started wrestling?
Speaker 2:Eighth grade. You know one thing that's actually like self-alleging has just literally right over there Gilroy, I think I think I was lucky. I was talking to a buddy there. They thought I was kind of full of shit. If I look at my wrestling career, I think I was lucky because I was never the greatest wrestler but I have to be like on three really, really good teams. When you talk about wrestling, everybody talks just what did you do individually. Nobody talks like, hey, how good was your team right the way that Gilroy was. Gilroy used to only have one junior high. The PE coach was a guy named Bert Maher.
Speaker 2:If you look, now the gymnasium is named after Bert Maher. He's just like this huge figure in the wrestling community. What he instituted was every single boy, every single boy. In junior high they taught wrestling in PE.
Speaker 1:He was a.
Speaker 2:PE coach. Him and Coach Fahey were the PE coaches. They all taught wrestling. If you're a good wrestler you're going out for like I don't even think like they asked you hey, would you like to wrestle? You're going out for a wrestling team? Okay, Okay, he's like this large figure, he's not even a big guy. Him and Coach Fahey ran the wrestling programs For like 20-some years. They were undefeated in dual games. They had all these county champions. Coach Maher was just this figure where they said in 1965 when he graduated high school, he was undefeated. They didn't have state tournament at that time, so you just won the Northern Californians. He won that being undefeated year. I think he also wrestled in junior college. He was just like this coach that just had all these like quick one-liners like meat. You literally got called a meathead, all the time A meathead. The other funny one is like check the oil, Check to go for like the single check the oil and also.
Speaker 1:That's not the same anymore.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of stuff you can't do anymore.
Speaker 2:I got some funny stories about that. So he ran that. And what's also very fortunate is he had two sons, birdie and Sergio, and Sergio is my year and so I wrestled with Sergio all throughout my career, except for some such a state. So he wrestled, everybody wrestled. And then the junior high program probably at one time probably had about 100 kids, and then from there he also ran the Hawks program, which is like an after school program and he pretty much encourages everybody hey, you do the Hawks, do the Hawks, you're going to do the Hawks. And then we, so we wrestled year round. And then you go into Gilroy and at the time there's a. My coach at the time was a coach Ogle, and coach Ogle is just like this large figure, like he's. I think he's six, four, probably 280.
Speaker 1:And good coach for the heavyweights.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and he, he even like at one time like we had a really good head weight named Mark Rios and like it was like the 190 pounder was only 190. And then we had no other heavyweight mark was probably like 275. Like he had to cut the 275. And so coach Ogle had to jump in and always be his partner and remember we were in a team meeting one time. He was I don't like. Well, actually, let's see Mark Mark's fucking strong Like Mark was strong.
Speaker 2:But Gary was a pretty cool experience, like, like happened to be like I wasn't, like I didn't make the varsity, but then I went to Hawks and I didn't miss a cramp and I wrestled in my freshman year, never missed a practice, and so even the guys that were beating me up in junior high I was like just whooping, go the way with my. So I grew up being like a skinny kid but I get like just working at working on. But I happened to be a three year starter at Gild and so my first year was the first time that we won a CCS title, or sorry, it was coach Ogle's first CCS type. So we won it on our dual and what was really cool, with me being like a 171 pounder, I beat a guy and I think I beat him by. I think I beat him by eight points, so we got a four point advantage and that clinched it for us. So we four footed the 89, four footed the heavyweight and we finished it off with my me All right, cool, that was our first CCS type. And then my sophomore year. We actually had a better team my sophomore year than the previous year, but unfortunately there's some guys that I have one guy who was like my workout partner my workout partner on previous year can you go out for the team, even though he was like a returning CCS place here and then also like another kind of kicking the kicking the pants or kicking the nuts was. We had one guy on the team that was poly range number two in California, and in the middle of the year he decided he didn't want to continue. And I think, like I remember like coach Oval, like he's a real, like a big, intimidating figure, but also he had like the softer side and I remember him just being honest with us like yeah, you know he didn't want to do it. And then even like later in the later in the year, our team captain just didn't want to continue with wrestling either. That's crazy and he was chose, unfortunate.
Speaker 2:But then my senior year, we had a really good team. We did have a bunch of young guys and it was first time we won the CCS title, was the championships and we went by 50 points or so. We also took like seventh in California. What's I guess? When I always think about that team, I was a good team and we had a real good tour. Everybody was really close, but I actually thought they could have been that, because there was like three guys in the school that like grew up wrestling with one another. They're, they're great. And one was actually a two year starter, like he was also varsity as a sophomore, varsity as a junior, but unfortunately they're ineligible. So we took seventh. But I still think about, I don't know if we would have been, maybe, maybe after, I don't know what the point difference was from seventh to fifth, but I think those guys could have won at least one match at state. So that would have been, you know, a little bit of difference. So, yeah, hard, hard to say.
Speaker 2:But one thing that I was kind of thinking about, like my wrestling at Gilroy, we used to have a huge rivalry with Halston. So like Gilroy, halston, and so at one time back in 1991, I think, they were ranked number one. We were ranked number two and since he's like kind of small towns at the time, we had the match on a Friday night and then the local paper literally did a write up each day about that. Like they pick a key match up. They would have these, you know, two of high school guys, faces about who could win, who's going to potential win. They had five days straight of this matchup and they called they dubbed it the match of the century, and I remember it was crazy. We actually wasn't supposed to be in that match because I just I didn't start out on varsity myself.
Speaker 2:From here there's another guy named Dallas that actually started out as varsity and I had a challenge for that much. Oh, okay, and remember I said I never cut weight. Yeah, I was only like 160 pounds, but the 160 pounder was Luke Corona and Luke was a. He took seventh as junior year in the state and he took third senior year and he was beating me up every day. No way I was beating him with that. But then I challenged Dallas and I won and I got a close match and I remember we were going into the, the holster match, and they had a wrestler named Isaias Rivera and he was at that time ranked number one in CCS. So I had to go on a meeting with, like me, dallas I think Luke was there too and Coach Ogil, because Luke was the captain, and maybe Jack here and he's just like hey, chris, I'm thinking about putting Dallas in Isaias is really strong.
Speaker 2:He just we just can't get pinned and I'm a small. I'm a small 71-ton, and I think it's the first time I've ever kind of stood up for myself with Coach Ogil, because he's just like, I think, the father figure he's, you know, he's like mentor and I had to be like no Coach, I can do it, I can do, I can do this, I can do this. And I remember him just like looking at me, just like he's sitting in his like office chair, like okay okay okay, and then what was?
Speaker 2:crazy about the match. You know, like most matches, you get some people in the stands, right? Yeah, it was sold out.
Speaker 1:It was on.
Speaker 2:Friday night. If you ever go into Gail Royale High School, like look how many people that can place can hold, yeah, it was sold out. It was like the thing you know for, like, oh my god, what are you doing? We're going to the wrestling match. It was the thing to do. Like, both lines, both things had the cheerleaders. So all the girls I had it crushed on were in the front row. And you know, and I'm sitting there in my skivvies and I remember sitting there like because there's like one light, it's all dark, and you're doing those lineups and I'm sitting there looking at the guy, azaz Farah, and he's a big guy. I'm like how the fuck are getting myself in this? I should have let Dallas wrestle. I should have let Dallas and I got a man. I never had nerves like that. I still think those nerves were like just like a punch in the gut, Like I think I was going to the bathroom early, two minutes before the match, and like he probably had. You know, I think he cut weight and then kind of bulked up and you probably had 10 pounds on me on that match. And I remember we go to wrestle and I did my job. I didn't get pinned. I didn't lose by eight. So they got a three point advantage and so at that point we're up by 13. Going into the two final matches. So then we lost. The next match was my buddy, mike Denmerchette. He wrestled a guy named Carlos Vuelto and then they wanted to put in the hands of the heavyweight match, because the heavyweight match was our Mark Reyes I think. He was ranked number two in CCS at the time and then a guy named Jaime Garcia was ranked number one in CCS at the time for Hollister and they went into like double overtime. But we already want it, we already clinched it. Oh nice, yeah. And it was kind of cool Like going back to school. And then I guess that guy Azaz was like showing his frustration offside the mat and a bunch people tell me like dude, you see how upset you got him, like you didn't get. You know he did your job and I got a lot of praise for that. So that was pretty cool, yeah. And then also wrestling gallery.
Speaker 2:In the following year we go to Hollister and same exact thing. It's on a Friday night. They just built that gymnasium the bigger one, yeah, the bigger one. That was like I think it was one of their first sold out events. So it's so sold out that like the bleachers are packed, yeah, and it's standing in room only for a certain portion, and they give us this little mat to warm up on, and we're bumping into people like hey, dude, I'm warming up here, like I'm warming up like dude, all right, all right.
Speaker 2:And the guy that I wrestled was this guy named Donnie Ryder, and Donnie, actually I was on nervous for that one. He's a good wrestler, but he he pinned me earlier in the year and so I had to go into that match, thinking like don't get fans Threat. And I got, I got him that day. I ended up having a good rivalry with him, but I went. I mean, I went two and three with him, but like we went two and two in high school and then he pinned me in college, he ended up going to Fresno State, okay. So then our senior year, they put it back on Wednesday. It was just like yeah, it's a dud, but like I remember just being like how intense those matches were.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And I thought I literally thought every high school program was like that. No, Because I remember going to like when I was at San Francisco State, like, dude, like I was explaining the match to my buddies and they're like shut up, you're fucking lying. I go no, I'm serious. And then my buddy, daniel, who's also on the Hollister team, he goes yeah, we had that was sold out. And they're like no way. And I do, dude, we're serious, that's the way our wrestling was. And I'm like, oh wow, but those I remember those matches were tense. They're like I think one year, I think maybe by senior year, I remember going out and there's like fights outside too. Oh shit, I think. I think some guys actually try to jump in the front of the guy that was on our team for me. Yeah, he wasn't that like. Now he lives in Hollister, so yeah, the, the you can in.
Speaker 1:Clovis gets like that.
Speaker 2:Oh, there's his word, there's his way better, there's his intense. They got smoke coming out every.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, that's I took the team like when I first took over yeah we. We did like field trip status. We went and watched the duel between them.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Cause we didn't. I mean, we skipped a practice that day, but it's worth it, oh yeah. But now it's like to. They usually have it on a day that we're either competing and now it's like, all right, well, can we really afford to miss a practice? Yeah, but the ones that got to go experience that I mean I would. I would say, if you, if you're a wrestling fan, you, you want a good high school experience. I should watch this on YouTube.
Speaker 2:I was watching a couple of the key matches on YouTube and I mean just to be in a duel meet where a guy who's ranked number one in California against, like, a guy who's ranked number three in California and they're in the same city. Yeah, jesus man.
Speaker 1:How many times are they meeting in one season, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean cause you're going to like they're. Also. A lot of times they're going to the Clovis Buchanan tournament, sometimes the Clovis West, then then they also go to like the beast of the east. The same ones, so, and they're. They all grew up probably wrestling with one another.
Speaker 1:So it's crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's. I think wrestling, wrestling gambling was really fun. I think I got like I still talk to some some of my buddies from there, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:You're doing good yourself. I loved it. And then after that I went to a Gavilan junior coach and that was actually a really cool experience. I mean I wasn't like all interesting. No, like my first year I was kind of like caffeine half out. I had a really good coach. His name is Zee Conturus and we kind of had this kind of rag tag team. None of us like had this big resume or anything, but I think he just like really just talked to us as like adults Like all right, cool, like our condition was on our own, all right, you just go run this loop.
Speaker 2:I mean, there's a trail around Gavilan you can't run it anymore, but there's a trail that like goes up and down. It's got all these hills, and that was our condition. And he just was you literally like all right, go run and he can take off. Well, if you didn't do it like you got treated like an adult, like a kid. Where he has to, he has to watch you every single day. And that also translated to the way that he coached it, because I remember not like I did anything funny, but I used to do some goofy stuff on the mat and he'll give me a hard time about it Like, hey, don't do that. And like I wanted to be like the flirt flower in high school. He's like get away from that, get away from that, you're too small, or something like that.
Speaker 2:But then I started doing it, like in junior college, and I got pretty good. I started doing it and Zeke was just like you're gonna do it, do it good. Yeah, he didn't like no, no, no, no, stay there, stay there, stay there. Didn't try to, you know, make me do a specific style that he wanted. He's just like if you're gonna do it, do it good. And I got to be really good at it.
Speaker 2:So, like one year on my second year in junior college, I threw a lot of people. I threw a lot of people. I had a really good year in junior college. My second year. Yeah, what sucks about it is I got my senior in high school and also my sophomore year in junior college. In the middle of the years I got like I was having a great year. My senior in high school, I got bronchitis in the middle of the year, probably did a bad lungs. And then my sophomore year in junior college, I was undefeated for a while and then I got staph in my leg. So like my upper leg, looked like my lower leg.
Speaker 2:So it took me out probably like three weeks from your season. Yeah, that's a lot. And then, you know, cause your leg. So I kind of I think I lost a step and I lost several of that. I didn't place in the state. But what's that? I was ranked number two for the majority of the year and then went and just went and didn't. I placed in the state but not the results I wanted. So that was I mean. Like I said, I think one funny story about my time at Gavilan was we go up to wrestling. I think Coach Zeke's gonna laugh if I hear it. We go up to Chabot, which is Hayward, and we go to Chabot and we have six wrestlers. They have 10 wrestlers, like Gavilan. It really didn't. I don't want to say they didn't support us, but they really didn't like support you.
Speaker 2:I'll say it yeah, I think some of this stuff actually literally came out of Zeke's pocket, but we got like 10 year old, like warmups. Actually, the thing is we had to buy ourselves and so we looked like this rag-tab bunch, we have six wrestlers, they have 10. So we were giving up 24 points, right? So the way the match goes before the match, a couple guys are doing WWF moves, a couple guys are like just joking around. We're laughing. We used to have this coach in peace. There he's sitting there cracking jokes the whole time and then, sure as shit remember I told you about how I got in trouble one time with wrestling, because I think we wrestled on a Wednesday, and then I think it was that Monday or Sunday I went up to Chico for Halloween. My dad was so pissed at me I think I still smelled like alcohol, and so I barely won that match and even like, at one point, the guy kind of throws me off the side and I go face. First I go face first and.
Speaker 2:I'm laying there and I flip to my back and I'm like holy shit. And then I was in the top match and I am pulling it out. But what's funny is we tied him. So we won all six of our matches. We gave up 24 points, so it was 24-24.
Speaker 1:And then you went on criteria. Just like hey man, I got a test.
Speaker 2:He was 24, 22 hours in the day. I want you to figure something out, so don't. Yeah, I'll see you at practice. Okay, and it was just like straight to the point, yeah that's simple. You know I laugh at people like oh put Jimson's dick. He just wasn't your dad, he wasn't your babysitter.
Speaker 1:He wasn't you know, Gave you life the way it was.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and even like he'd also like not there'd be fights that break out in the gym, you know, hostilities, things like that, Just people going at it. And a couple of times when the fights would break out, he'd kind of like just go to the, not that he wasn't in the middle, like breaking it up. He'd let the other guys break it up. But he'd like run to the side and be like, oh shit, oh, fight happening. Oh, okay, you know, yeah, and I remember like I even got in a fight in my own practice. Well, that's actually my best friend. But then the year that I took the red shirt year they actually won. It was the only time they've ever won the D2, the Vision Tree National title.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, and even at San Francisco. One thing that's kind of unique about them at the time that I was there, from 96 to 98. I kind of put a whooping on the wrestling sport. So we wrestled at D1 schedule, okay. Okay, so the nearest division to us was Colorado, okay, so we went to wrestle Stanford, uc Davis, stanford, uc Davis, cal State, baggersfield, coulombson.
Speaker 1:We wrestled all of them and like Back when we had a lot of D1 schools.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but like San Francisco, like we did good, like we beat Stanford the two years that was there, we won on one with Tom, two and all against Fullerton, one and one against Baggersfield. Oh and two, we got whooped up by Baggersfield. Baggersfield had a really good team at that time. Baggersfield actually took third. Oh, wow, I mean they had Stephen Neal, pascal de Rereau, was it Derrick? It was the 167th Derrick, something or other. They also had a couple other guys out. They had a really good team, tj Curtis, a coach. So yeah, actually my friend Matt went down there too, but then also We'd go up to like Portland State. We beat them. They were transitioning from a D2 to a D1 at the time. Oh, okay, you know what I just got to compete.
Speaker 2:I always kind of joke around people, I think I mean I was in a good wrestler, like my first year out of 17 and 17. And then my second year out of 13 and 17. But the majority of, I would say 60 to 70% of it was D1 matches. And even so, my first tournament was California Collegiate, which is down in Fullerton, and I took third. And I have, like I think I had four tournaments placing four or five. I kind of forgot and that's like literally the same amount, old age dude, because I know I took third in California Collegiate. I placed in the Southern Oregon. I took fourth, two times I think. Cal State Bake Flush I took six but it was like maybe six out of like 12 or, you know, six out of like Maybe nine, you know it's not nothing to write home about.
Speaker 1:The other medals stand.
Speaker 2:I'm on the medal. You know what? They didn't even give you medals. You know what they gave you. You know what they gave you? Well, shirts, oh shit. But the shirt was actually kind of cool because, like, you can't wear your medal to a tournament, you're gonna be a fucking dork. But if you wore a shirt, you'd be like, oh shit, you placed there. Yeah, oh shit, okay, yeah, yeah. I kind of knew. I kind of knew they were legit, like oh right.
Speaker 2:Okay. So I kind of wear those shirts to tournament Like hey, and I remember Bakerfield actually had like for their different color shirt, or the printing was different for every single place, like first place it was black, second it was like blue, yeah, 30 was this, and then I remember six was like yellow. But yeah, I think I think San Francisco has a good experience. Or just wrestling, and I think there's a lot of times where I'm like I fucking hate this sport. I sucks, you know, you get all these injuries.
Speaker 2:I think I like five shoulder separations, all jammed hands, this that I bet she had meniscus on both sides, mm-hmm. Also backspans. We're like it wake me up in the middle of night Like somebody's like punching me, but I didn't quit. There's the input, yeah, yeah. So I think that's like the biggest takeaway. And somehow I got better grades when I was wrestling compared to like I really got better grades like wrestling than like just being a regular student was you think you'd have more time, but you kind of like you want to go get your other kinds of time compared to like wrestling. You're like Are you practice this time? This is this time, this is this time. Yeah, cool, that's it.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, there's no time for anything else.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and also, you know, I think I had some really good guys in my room that was like around me because, like I said, they won the Division II national title. So literally three of my everyday work up partners were national champs. So I had this guy, greg Jackson he was a 158 national champ. I'd wrestle him every day. Also got him Paul Healy, who's a two-time All-American no, maybe one time All-American every single day. I'd wrestle him. Terry Tesolino he's a 177 national champion. Every single day I was a partner. And then also another, skydly Lofton, that was a national champ as well. So I gotta, I gotta just wrestle those guys every single day and a couple other guys.
Speaker 1:Kind of hard not to get better when you're wrestling good guys like that.
Speaker 2:But it is easy in your ass. Kick too. Hey, that's whoop. I mean there's some. I mean it could have been easy to quit. Be like, oh man, I'm getting my ass kicked and now this and that, but I just like fuck it. Yeah. Yeah, I'm still like. There's a couple guys, like even one of my roommates. He was like a California State champ and he went in from there to being like, oh my god, just quit. Like dude, you have all these accolades. You know not place or this, that all its talent. And just like I grew, like I said Jensen wasn't, he wasn't, that, it was your mama, he was the same to everybody.
Speaker 2:Yeah you know, and I think Also Jensen was a pretty good coach because, like I said, he you got all these degrees and he knew how to like All right, we're gonna start off at this level and by nationals and regionals you should be at this level, mm-hmm. And he just he knew how to taper things like you started out at like two, two hours and 15 minutes of practice and then towards regionals and national here at three hours of practice. But it would be like there his idea of a comp practice was an hour and a half of drilling, an hour and a half of live wrestling Like he did a lot of. He did a lot of drilling like so. And sometimes you do like an hour on your feet, all right, 25 outside takedowns, 25 inside, 25.
Speaker 2:When some days of you like literally all right, 50 firemen's carries, 50 doubles, 50 snap downs okay, you did, you drill that much. And then even on On set, because you had to practice six days a week and on Saturdays there's two hours of just like. So ours about maybe an hour and a half of just like standing Mm-hmm, just standing, all right, cool, no breaks. Hour to hour and a half. Yeah, hour and hour and a half about just standing drill. Okay, cool, glad to do that right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we yeah, and then also you had to. You had to sign into the weight room too, uh-huh. So they, who's big on like cleans or no? I used to do things like he. Just you had a sign in the weight room and you had a second release, like two, two or three times a week. So weightlifting, practice, school yeah, no time for anything. Right, it worked out.
Speaker 1:So how would you say your wrestling background has helped you and your jiu-jitsu journey.
Speaker 2:Oh, big time. You know, I think I Think wrestling also helped me like simplified, so like my mentality. Now, when I compete and I tell this people, take down smash pass, take down smash pass, that's it, I think people get like, oh my god, what if they do this? This is this, this, this, this, this. Don't worry about what they're gonna do, you just stay with your game plan, yeah, and focus on it. But I think people like Also want to do all these fancy moves and I need to do the bare and bow and you do this. I need to do that. Oh, if he comes here, I'm gonna hit this thing. All right, man, just take down smash pass, make it easy.
Speaker 2:I think, Even though, like, I haven't Talked about coaching Jensen no longer, he passed away. But I see, even like some stuff that he says, like I still like, use Mm-hmm. I'm even coach Oboe, score first. Yeah, that's why go for a, take them score first. I don't like pulling guard because you go into a 50-50 position where they potentially might score first Mm-hmm. I think also, if you can I'm a like I think was old will to talk about that If you can score within the first 30 seconds of somebody, it kind of puts them in a mental aspect like, oh shit, so I'm losing, yeah, oh shit, and so you know you don't achieve that point guard, right. Right, I mean, I know I'm paying on some, some guard pullers now, but but I think you just have them until I score first Mm-hmm. You know, and I think I I also do. I do a lot of pressure, pressure stuff. It's not because I'm trying to be like a dick or anything, I think it just it just relates to roughly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and also just remember is like Jensen, like apply the pressure, let him carry you, he's gonna break down, he's gonna get tired and then capitalize on it. Yeah, so why? And I know some people like oh, you Told me I don't know Jiu-Jitsu, because I do that, but I'm like I'm trying to tire you out, I'm trying to.
Speaker 1:Like this is the game plan. This is the game.
Speaker 2:Like my thing is take down smash, pass, and that's even I Think competing is good for me, because even I'm so much of a competitor even though I don't have a competition coming up like within that near future Still kind of thinking about. I'm still thinking about like, all right, I want to get really good at passing. So, like my first several years, I Just play top. And if it was like a better guy's a better better guard than me, I wanted to learn how to pass this one, because I know I'm gonna go take down smash, take down smash, pass. So like, if I'm gonna go against the black belt when I was a blue blue belt, I'm gonna. I'm gonna stay on top because I want to get better at passing. Yeah, that's part of my game plan. Right, then Right, you know, and I know, like some guys, like, oh, you need to get better at the guard, I'm like why I think I'm getting better at my guard now but I I Still take down smash less.
Speaker 1:So yeah, what Pulling guard Like I'm so not used. I'm used to it now, right, but Coming from the wrestling of, so you not used to being on my back Right like that took a long time yeah and I'm gonna get used to doing you know I got these things and I'm not really like real vocal about it.
Speaker 2:But sometimes I don't like when, like, an upper belt is like, oh, you need a pull guard. Like to this white blue box, like because they're giving the advice of what they would do in a match right, yeah but, that might be more advanced.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, exactly like you got to think about your guard. When you're a white belt, you're literally getting beaten up. That because you're that new white belt in the room, you're getting beaten up by all these guys, so you have more of a defensive guard, right, because you're just used to getting. You're not scoring.
Speaker 1:That's on, yeah.
Speaker 2:And so why do you want somebody to, as a white belt, blue belt, to pull the guard when they don't know how to score points from it? Yet, yeah, you know how to score points and be that coach to. You got a, you know, and I think, um, you ever notice the difference in? Did you just hear the wrestling? In regards to coaching, a Little bit, I guess.
Speaker 2:Sometimes, like, like for when I was training for masters, I was hopping in that, okay, like a drop in faith for the sling is you did sit and try him, mm-hmm, the headcups there was is Adrian Garcia, and one thing that I like that he really does is he coaches his whole entire time that he's Coaching or the turn the class, so there'd be like there he felt like five teams or five, yeah, part of it, and he walks and he coaches Somebody, like one thing, like he'll coach the first somebody, like one of the one of the opponents in one, go to the next one, put one here, one here, yeah, and then he'd come back and he Coach the opposing one. So I think, like somebody getting used to hearing your coach yelling at you is good for competition.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah I. I was just talking about this, the Like, the, the lap Competition. I Thought someone and like I go out and my coach is talking and I focus on him so I could hear him through the map. Yeah, somewhere down the down the way, like midway through the match, my ears picked up his coaching and I was like, oh Shit, yeah, do that I?
Speaker 2:want you. I don't know, some people just don't like, aren't used to somebody like yelling at them, cuz like when you know some people coach, like it's kind of tough, like if you're just like one person teaching the class, you know it's hard to like coach You'd also like if you're that black though, there's a bunch of upper belts that also want to roll with you, so you're killing it. It's tough. But I think you do need to coach people like they need to get used to coaching.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, our coach Wanders the mat. Yeah and I mean he's still pretty active too, so he'll roll with us. He tries to avoid me. You hear this? You're avoiding me. Yeah, he, yeah he's. We just rolled a couple weeks back.
Speaker 2:Also, did you get the therapy roll? Do that too, like the days that he's there. Sometimes he's doing it from the side. Yeah, you know, like, but you're getting used to hearing that. Yeah so and even like Sometimes I don't say people don't coach, like I know, like I have a cousin that does the jiu-jitsu and I'll watch him roll.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm and then he's when I, when he goes with me or can't go to you right now, but when he would go with me, would go to open mats and you got used to like he'd roll and when I usually wouldn't roll, when he'd roll He'd come back a back. Hey, you're doing this and that. Do that. Put your head too much, far over your bounce, you're off. You pulled you into it. You got to sit back down, keep your continue, keep your head up. Like I talked to him, like that right, he's real receptive about that and he'd go back and kind of fix that. But like, compared to like when I was coaching, they're rolling and you're coaching right there and they're coming off. They're coming off in between the road that one minute. Hey, you're not doing this, your balance is off. You know you're not shifting your weight. Hey, you're dropping knees to the ground. You shouldn't be dropping knees. Balance. Put that pressure to your knees off the mat.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I think it's different. I think it's different, but it's like the difference between hobbyists program and a competitor, because wrestling you're. Your own dish right then right, every single season is just a competition. So yeah, I think, I Think I'm just when your next competition. Next month 11 yeah what do you do to prepare for it?
Speaker 1:Right now I go, so we we, as our gym, have class Like technique class, monday and Thursday. Monday is a two-hour class, thursday is an hour and a half two hours. Yeah, yeah, we don't have other days, so, and then Friday is with our gym open mat. Okay so we roll live. Yeah and then I go to a coffee group. I'll try to hit some other place During during the week. So like the goal is to get four to five, yeah, so you're not planning out, also planning out before competition.
Speaker 1:This one is the one, the one that I've done the most like which other? The the most planning. Okay, like this is. As soon as I signed up, I was like, okay, I'm gonna hit all the coffee crews, I'm gonna do these things. And then, like we went to Modesto one time, we're gonna go to Turlock this week. But someone's leaked out so like I did open mat Two weeks ago in Merced that at Guerrilla and Merced they do marathon Monday. The first Monday of every month, marathon like like how many life rolls is that?
Speaker 1:Shoot. It says six to seven, fifteen, but I left like at seven, ten and they were like still a lot of heads rolling. So, uh, yeah, I've been trying to get as much live rolling as I can, especially outside of our gym, right, and yeah, I just trying to. I try to roll with the upper belts as much as I can. Yeah, nothing against white belts, or even the blue belts. Like I try to roll with Someone that's at my level or above. I don't mind rolling with white belts either. Like I mean, they offer a different aspect of the game, right, like so sometimes you got to roll the memory.
Speaker 2:when I was at uh, that's Salinas Jujitsu, I'd always go with this one guy I called him actually Nick. In the pissing vinegar you just come out just kind of not spazzy like he was. He was decently technical, but he just came with a lot of energy right and I'm always hey, let's go, pissing vinegar, let's go, and I think his name was Jesse or it wasn't this, jesse.
Speaker 2:No, you came with a lot of energy and I was like kind of Alright, let's go, you ready, yeah. But um, I know from like when I compete, yeah, I only do one company, one or two a year, mm-hmm. But and I'm not saying like everybody should do this, but I think I put too much into it. So I literally plan out six weeks Mm-hmm and within that six weeks I'll try to get four to five times four, maybe four times on the mat, but also I'm also doing another workout. So I try to average Eight a minimum eight workouts per week, like four to five days of rolling and then four days of some sort of cardio, weightlifting, kettlebells. I do a lot of power cleans, like sometimes I would. I Should do this one exercise where I can power clean like 135.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm but.
Speaker 2:I do it for five minutes straight. Okay and so, and the other thing that I really focused on is because a lot of times when I roll a Roll with a heart rate monitor, yeah, or then when I work out a risk, you know. So I want to put my heart rate that About an average 170 to 175 for a duration of five minutes For me, because I think, like all right, when I compete in this five-minute span, I got to have my heart rate so much to be able to get it. I mean.
Speaker 2:Right but I mean, I don't do that all the time like cuz. Even like a couple times I competed Like oh my god, I can get through this guy. I think I've kind of squeezed by sometimes. All right, I'm gonna squeeze by, get this guy on points, and I'm kind of thinking, I'm thinking it's gonna be a long day, so yeah, so that's how I scheduled my time before before turn six weeks. But also, like I Cut down on the tacos, I cut down on the burritos, I cut down on the pizza and I do cut down on the beer, but then like I let's just say I cut down on it. I need to give it up. But like two weeks before a big tournament, I'm not drinking beer.
Speaker 1:Got quit drinking. I will say all on it last, but it's, it's been a gone. It'll be close to Three months no.
Speaker 2:I need to one of these days. I'll do that. I gonna One thing, one of the things I think, like getting into you just you at this older age Was extremely beneficial for me because I got healthier. Like said when I started at goer, they're like, how long you've had asthma? I'm like I've asthma, yeah, and they're like, yeah, I was like, oh, we shouldn't. So then that I have to really, I have to really monitor that. I have to really monitor that and I'll say like the more I roll, the more it kind of subsides it's, it is what it is.
Speaker 1:Even like.
Speaker 2:I was always doing like Saturday morning class. I'm taking a break, I'm not rolling that much these days, but I used to always do a Saturday morning class and a Sunday Mm-hmm. So I wouldn't drink Friday night or Saturday night because I prefer the work out yeah. I'd prefer the workout more than Downing that 12 pack.
Speaker 2:Yeah you know, like I always tell people I was a little bit of a drinker before it you get to, I was, uh, I was living up in Sacramento and Kind of going out Thursday, friday, saturday, thursday Friday, saturday and then during football season, sunday, sunday, sunday and so oh, four days.
Speaker 2:When I got the jiu-jitsu I Kind of laugh I, I guess. I started drinking more water and I went into the doctor and they're like, oh, you're 511. I was, I know I'm not. I've been five, ten and a half since I've been eighth grade. And they're like, look I was. Oh shit, I'm 511.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I talked to my doctor's like You're healthily hydrated.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was like 44 years old.
Speaker 2:I just grew half an inch. How the f that happened? Yeah, he goes you could cuss. Yeah, he's like.
Speaker 2:You're putting more water in your system, right, yeah, it goes, it looks like you're getting healthier. Yeah, yeah, well, if you were used to the alcohol on drinking more water, it actually expands your cells. So, yeah, that always happens. I'm like okay, but then it's came back down a little bit, but You're no longer 511, so, but yeah, I think jiu-jitsu has been good for me. I think, like I said, my goal is I don't know what it was, but like I think I told you earlier, like Somehow, when I first signed up for the jiu-jitsu gym Always the stuff I'm like I got to do this for ten years, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I got to do this for ten years and You're what year 8 into it, year 9. I think, if you Whenever my start day was 2015, 2016, or 7-8, 7-8, yeah, I guess I got two more years. I got two more years till whenever, whatever, so I think I'm on a good track right now, but um.
Speaker 1:So what happens? And at that 10 year mark.
Speaker 2:I Think I'm kind of stuck now. I think I, you know, I have a young son, my son's four. Okay, he literally Mean he's four. So I don't say I trained them, but for me To give my wife a break when he was a baby is like six months old. Six months or nine months old, I'd take him to jujitsu practice with me. I'd come with a stroller and give him his little iPad and he'd sit there for an hour and a half. I check on him from time to time, look over at him, but he's we does with me all the time.
Speaker 2:So I think I'm always asking like Roman, you want to do jujitsu? Yes, yes, I Think it'd be a pretty darn. It whole goal they're one day that he gets. You know so far that, like I don't really plan on giving up competing. Mm-hmm, I want to compete until I come six or seven. I think I'm that little crazy. Maybe if the doctor tells him stop or if I have a bad injury. But even if I have a bad I've had bad injuries and I still like I'm gonna heal up, I'll be fucking back. Yeah, at this point I don't really see myself stopping it yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's good. I think it's just part of the life now. Yeah, like I said, it's kind of my goal to be Known as a grappler than the rest of the rest of the yeah yeah, so yeah, and you know I still yeah, this last year I did masters, you know, and I placed.
Speaker 2:It doesn't bug me that I didn't win. I Know some people like that with my tally go, that's cool, you place, that's all good for you. I'm like it really. I Mean I didn't really have a consistent place because I mean I was jumping, it was slingy, so you did see an Australian do some stuff on my own. I didn't have that great training camp and it also sucked. That and I haven't really told me too many people there's some people know, but I got COVID in the middle of that training camp.
Speaker 1:Second time.
Speaker 2:I think that's my third time. Like I said, I got some bad lungs. They're not enough the healthiest thing. So I got, I think I did two weeks. I Said I usually that six-week camp. I did two weeks first two weeks or I wasn't rolling too much and maybe get like one day a week. And Then I got COVID and then so that took me out like two and a half weeks and then I still kind of felt the effects of it. It wasn't too like that Monday. That's like alright, okay, I left on a Wednesday and I could beat it on a Thursday, so I left on that Monday. I'm like alright, that was a good practice.
Speaker 2:I think I'm gonna do well, I think I'm gonna do it, I think I can but, I had to like Now, I don't know what, how many other people do this, but I had to like I Do a lot, I watch a lot of videos. Before I Literally watch, like before the brackets came out I looked up every single video and every single guy in that in that bracket, hmm, and I kind of knew like, okay, this guy, I want this guy, I could do this, I'm gonna do this. So when the brackets came out, like the first guy that I competed with his name is, his name is Ernest, that was his. Like his first, his first e-competition. Like he placed silver in American Nationals.
Speaker 2:We had a similar opponent named Tony Cal. He was actually beating Tony Cal and then Tony got him and but he had all these other accolades, he is a higher thing and I saw him doing a bunch of takedowns. I was alright, there's gonna be a take down heavy game, let's go. And then he pulled guard. I Know it was, you know so. And then my second match, same thing, very similar guy. I saw him being very, very take down heavy on it. I think he had like six or seven videos up and I think I watched all those and he was like the number four ranked guy or whatever, and then same thing, he pulled guard Really he was a nice guy stopping him afterwards and it's kind of like yeah, man, you gave me no openings at all.
Speaker 2:You gave me no openings. You're just like I kind of kind of kind of funny. You're just like like walking away like he gave me no openings. He gave me no openings. Walking away like shaking his head. I'm like All right man. And then the third guy his name was like Hermoso, he was from Six Blades and he was also like a guard puller. What was crazy about competing against him? One of the guys that I'm a big fan of in jujitsu is Anje Roberto Mm-hmm. You know he's like Was it? He's in place there. Several champs he's had these. You know great match with hodger Gracie, and that was his coach.
Speaker 2:And so like from me to Bam Bam. Right there he was like coaching them. Oh shit, that's actually what I don't know why more people don't go to masters, like, if you're a fan of masters, you should go, because, like, there's literally a lot of like Zanjay. You know, I was also at one point standing next to John Downer, her and they go from our golly Lovato.
Speaker 2:They're all just right there for me, you because they're not like I Mean in our world. They're like big stars but like the regular little digs walk around. Yeah, they do their own grocery shopping, but you get to see all of them. You get it even like I went to go buy a t-shirt for hodger Gracie and he was right there. I was like and so like, if you're like a fan of that world to sport, you should go. So I think actually think more school students, I Think more schools should promote it too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're supposed to my coach. He said him and I are gonna do it next year.
Speaker 2:I think you're also. I mean, it's different. I think, like, for me, I say I do a six week camp. I think it would be a good value to a gym if they all did it. And what I mean by that is like alright, guys, here's our goal six weeks. You got 50 people in your room.
Speaker 2:Alright, who's signing to the compete? Maybe 20 guys raise their hands? Okay, we're going to do Monday, wednesday, friday, we're going to do comp class you 30, be a team player, be a team, like you're not going to compete, but be right next to that guy. Yeah, hey, man, if you're going to compete, I'm going to be here three days a week too. Okay, cool, and maybe on off on those Tuesday, thursday hey man, let's go meet in the park, let's go do some sprints and then you all have that goal together, like, so, like when that person wins, you all win, you all win, man. And then even like as a value to a gym alright, guys, every single year we're going to Vegas, we're going to go. Some guys are going to compete, we're going to cheer you on. We're going to be a team, we're going to give you that support.
Speaker 1:Also, when that six weeks comes out reduce.
Speaker 2:I think for me I don't say I'm a little better person, but that during that six weeks where I'm cutting down this, cutting out that, waking up early, doing those five am workouts you know, in my, in my home gym during those six ams, I'm a little bit of a better person.
Speaker 2:I think you kind of go through life just kind of like when you got that goal, got that focus, alright, great. I'm checking my heart rate, I'm checking my stuff, I'm cutting down this, I'm cutting down that, getting sugar out. When you get on that grind, you get a little bit. You're a little bit better version yourself and I don't know why gyms don't promote that.
Speaker 2:That makes sense and then also just go, imagine, like when you travel to Vegas with your team because, like there's some teams, they, they promote it big. You know, like for me also for this training camp, I was invited to go to Claudio Franco's, seneca's, my friend Tim Fagan had me and they had 25 guys. So on Sundays they had a very nice uh practice. Uh, it's ran by Nate Mendelssohn and it's literally like my idea of a comp practice, like we started out doing a lot of doing, we started out doing a lot of situationals and also, uh, fernando, fernando, fernando, fernando, fernando, fernando, fernando, fernando, fernando.
Speaker 1:Fernando Fernando Fernando.
Speaker 2:Right, is that what this I forgot? Um, a lot of drilling, a lot of situationals, live wrestling standing on your back on your stuff. Nate and him did a really good like my idea of a comp practice. Right, it was like several days a week and then they have like 25 guys competing and then another like maybe five or six guys that are just there. Yeah, I mean, I don't think like every. I think it should be encouraged because I think, just like that master's tournament, there's 10,000 competitors there.
Speaker 1:That's crazy.
Speaker 2:I think it can get bigger.
Speaker 1:That's crazy.
Speaker 2:You know, trivelle, you know one thing that I did so, yeah, so you know. So I finished up competing and then I went down to the bar to grab some pizza. Hey, like I said, I like beer. Yeah, okay, um, I went down to go grab some slice pizza. I started talking to this guy, norm, and we're having this conversation, and then we're at these, like you know, you just sit down and there's these big tables. Yeah, a price from us was two Brazilians.
Speaker 2:And I recognize one of them, like, okay, all right, cool. And I think I just started talking like, hey, man, how are you going? And he goes hey, I'm not the Tavares. Well, oh shit, he goes. I have 400 members of my school, I have an. No, I have an association of 38 schools. Oh, but what was so cool about it? And I almost I was wished people kind of did this. I just got to ask him questions.
Speaker 2:He started jujitsu in like 1974. And he was talking about how, like him coming up, you got his black belt from Carlson Gracie. He was in that, in that Carlson Gracie line. He opened his school in Rio and then when, when pride was big, Carlson would send, like Vanillay Silva Merlebus to Anato, and so, like he even told me this story goes, I got an argument with Carlson because he goes hey, Anato, how can we not promote him? Vanillay, he's a blue belt, he should be higher. He's like hey, no, he's knocking everybody out. I'm not going to promote until he taps somebody out. He's not using the jujitsu, he's not using jujitsu.
Speaker 2:And and also these, all these other guys. So then Carlson took him out of that school, took him out of Anato school and put him elsewhere to get him. You know this. And then he had all these other. But all the pride and also talking about like I talked to him for about an hour and a half, just like literally picking his brain, he's telling me the history of it and also the reason why he came to Florida, like he had his one school and somehow Carlson set it up. He goes hey, I'm opening up in this other school, I know I want you to teach it, I'm going to bring you over. And somehow he helped them with immigration.
Speaker 2:And so and then he started like jujitsu in Florida and so he built his school there and then I started also helping out the fighters there and helping out build it up and it was just a really cool. And I must wish like bring him over to a seminar and then like a dinner where everybody just kind of picks his brain and let's be this historian on That'd be cool, I didn't A little Q and A.
Speaker 2:I guess maybe cause I'm just like a history dork sometimes on that stuff, you know, I think there's just like a lot of figure, like like I read you know, Hosell's right.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So he died early. I think I think one of the reasons why, like I like that idea of a grappler is like hearing about him, because I mean he's a. He's a. He's a. Gracie started doing jujitsu from a baby, but then also started wrestling. You started, so that was, and so I'm a big fan of holes. But just like the real, like he was a wrestler, judo this, like he's a grappler, like that's that's the idea of a grappler.
Speaker 2:Not just one one singular thing wrestler or jujitsu. He's a grappler Right. Imagine how good you are If you you're like the leader of the family, that's. He was the leader before Hickson he was the leader. And then also he makes the national team for wrestling, makes the national team for judo and competes in the Pan Ams on both. Like, how good is that guy Like? And even like he only had like 12 black belts and one of them was a ratio. So Stambusky and you know he's like a big name, he went up having a school in London, but that's how the ratio is that. So like, I just think that, like you talk about your guests, he's probably like that most interesting figure you can think of.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's cool, that's cool. So I have a couple more questions, um, what's your most memorable moment with jujitsu? Thank you, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's a good question.
Speaker 2:Uh, I guess I went to. I went to Pans Like I. I was trying to get guys from my gym to go because that one time Florida was real cheap, and so I packed up my family and I trained to kind of buy myself to get going. I didn't get too much support. I went to Florida, Uh, and won that. So I won Pans, I won my weight and I won the absolute and I got a man. I, I, I competed this guy in the finals. His name is Tony and me and him are buddies.
Speaker 1:Uh huh.
Speaker 2:Uh, I used to sponsor that show and I just knew he was really good, like he actually, like he just travels the nation, he's competing a lot, he had all these double gold, several world championships, and I just knew I got him. So I competed against this guy and so, beating him in the finals and I wanted a really close match. We just like, uh guys, then I'll just Florida. I guess, Uh, a lot of friendships. I think he's just gotten me healthier, yeah.
Speaker 1:So I guess that's about it.
Speaker 1:Like, how many aren't getting healthier? Yeah, uh, my coach told me I had got hurt. Yeah, pulled my groin. So I was out like I was at practice but I wasn't training at all For like three months and put on like 40 pounds. I was drinking every day, Not not training at all, not doing anything. So I put on like 40 pounds and, uh, he was doing stripe promotions to some of the white belts and he brought me up and give me one for my blue belt and it's like, in order for you to get your purple belt, you need to get yourself healthy. After that. That, that was that slap in the face, the wake up call Like, okay, you can let yourself get out of control, right? So now I have a nutrition post. Yeah, you know, I'm doing nutrition, I'm down a few pounds, feeling better. I got to make like I'm not going to be able to do that.
Speaker 2:I didn't do all this last year, but I'm like I'm going to get a nutrition. I'm going to. I don't I had a bad weight pack that still, covid was fucking me up. I need to, yeah. So last question what advice do you?
Speaker 1:have for anybody just getting started on their journey. I'm going to get a nutrition. I'm going to get a nutrition. I'm going to get a nutrition. I'm going to get a nutrition. I'm going to get a nutrition. I'm going to get some nutrition. I'm going to get some nutrition.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, all right, if you wanted to get started on their journey.
Speaker 1:Honestly, I think I'm kind of thinking about you. I can't solve some of that. We're on the last question. Okay, I guess, are you good? Good, chris.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was going to say my advice is just don't dip your toe in, because I had this alternative motive of same amount of years I did wrestle. I want to do the same amount of years. Give it a year, give it a. Don't fuck it, just give your toe in and like, oh, give it a year. After that one year you'll probably hook, but give it that fucking year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, hopefully it comes out. Man, I let me go get the drafts. I forgot it.
Speaker 2:What size are you? Extra large, extra large, yeah.