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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Yep, Train at the Gracie CTC in Manhattan, KS. I have also done LEO training with Royce Gracie on several occasions. I love it.
 
Yes, and it is an addiction. Been training just coming up on two years and have competed at a couple of NAGA events in the old man division.

Amazing workout that is both fun and mentally challenging. I'm in the best shape of my life (and that includes my time in the infantry).

I only wish I had started years earlier.
 
Yeah, been doing it for about 6 years now here in San Diego. The best thing about it is every time you feel like you have progressed there's always someone to smash you and make you feel like you just started. Keeps a man really humble.
 
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Yeah absolutely love it, did the online gracieuniversity and got my blue belt last year. Then I got a different job and my training partner moved to North Carolina. Been wanting to get back into it but between work and trying to get some shooting in I haven't had the chance to start back. It is as addicting as long range shooting
 
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Yeah, been doing it for about 6 years now here in San Diego. The best thing about it is every time you feel like you have progressed there's always someone to smash you and make you feel like you just started. Keeps a man really humble.

Kinda like that man in the movie Deliverance!
 
BJJ is an evolution. The learning curve is never ending. I train BJJ along with Filipino Kali and Escrima. Most practitioners will tell you that 90% of all fights go to the ground. I train BJJ for the ground fight and Kali so it never makes it that far :)
 
For several years now and love it. Boxing too until last year and a shoulder injury stopped that.
 
I used to train MMA and competed in grappling tournaments. It was a blast and yes there was always some dude that could come in and humble you just when you are thinking you're pretty good. We had a 135lb guy who was just a beast. Saw him smash a few guys that came in at 185+. He had a twin brother that was just as mean too.
 
I did bjj for several years. It was a blast and amazing challenge. After several reoccuring back problems, I gave it up. I still try to take a couple seminars a year, but thats about it.
 
I used to be a maniac about it. 20+ hours a week on the mat, had keys to the school so a few of us could train when it was closed. I'd travel at least once a month to train at other schools. My cardio was as good as it gets for me. I had the inevitable injuries which slowed me down a bit, then my job changed and I didn't have insurance and could not responsibly train without it.
BJJ and golf were the only two things I loved and stuck with even though I wasn't good at them.
 
I trained for 2 years with it in college until i started working in the oil field and didnt have time to sleep much less time to train. I didnt train with all these famous people but still learned some stuff i guess.

I learned 2 moves that were stupid nasty but yet super easy to do that most people are already in when they get into side guard but yet let it slip away.

still was awesome and i was the guy that our instructor would put with all the new guys to humble them. at least the EGO guys. they were fun to crush. i was able to really work people over good and was able to last a long time even though i am a huge guy. (Hint: dont have to use 120% of your muscles just to move around) it was amazing workout and still wish i could go do it today. damn priorities get in the way of all the fun.

we had this judo guy that just beat the crap out of me every time but i eventually would beat him. always liked going against him since i was always learning a new way to defend something.
 
Funny. We train so we we don't get hurt and in the process practically cripple ourselves LOL.
 
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3 stripe blue belt checking in. Been at it for 4 years soon. I´ve lost 70 pounds and I´ve never felt better. Beeing fit has also had tremendous positive effects on my shooting.
 
On and off for the last 10 years. Nothing real formal. Just No GI training once or twice a week on and off at my local place. Great workout.


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On and off for the last 10 years. Nothing real formal. Just No GI training once or twice a week on and off at my local place. Great workout.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I could go six months in the Gi without an injury, as soon as I'd screw around no-Gi I could count on an ER visit that would keep me off the mat for a while.
 
Been training 18 months now. I didn't start training until after the age of 50 (7 children, boy scouts, wrestling coach), but that hasn't slowed me down. I love it and it has been great for my cardio. My school trains both Gi and No Gi.
 
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ain't no Gi's in real life bro. ;)

No there ain't my brother. But there's a shit ton of T-shirts and hoodies. I can't tell you how many "Gi" submissions I pulled off as a cop using a hoodie or the multi layers of T-shirts worn in the hood. What I never once ran across on "the skreet" was a rash guard.
The paradox from the gym to the street was that in the school everyone is playing the same game, there's very few guys of a mind to fight the POlice that can even pass guard. After UFC started reaching its current levels I'd tangle with a suburban kid that knew a few moves and would even try to tap out once he realized that throwing a punch or leg kick at me had been a bad idea.

i got hurt no-Gi in the gym so many times because we all knew each ohter's game and we had the cardio of Thorobreds so we would go so damn hard and fast that inevitably my neck would get cranked and my 5 HMMWV pile up would come back to remind me.

What the Gi teaches is how to slow down and relax, which is invaluable. I only did BJJ for a shirt while before switching over to a Gracie JJ school. The differences between BJJ and GJJ are subtle but pronounced.

Jeezus, I've been off the mat way too long to do the Gi/no-Gi debate. Mad respect to all of you who still train. My pledge to myself is to get back to it once I have insurance again.
 
Been considering this as I moved and there are limited options in my area. For those that have done this and other martial arts...how is the injury likely hood comparison. Did Muay Thai for quite a while and had a few injuries mainly due to hyper competitive sparing partners that I would then no longer train with. Probably going to limit striking styles with sparring as it's just not worth it when people cycle through.
 
Been considering this as I moved and there are limited options in my area. For those that have done this and other martial arts...how is the injury likely hood comparison. Did Muay Thai for quite a while and had a few injuries mainly due to hyper competitive sparing partners that I would then no longer train with. Probably going to limit striking styles with sparring as it's just not worth it when people cycle through.

That sucks man, sounds like you just had some shitty sparring partners. I've been a bit of a martial arts junkie my whole life. Have trained and practiced many different styles. I'd say the injury percentage is pretty similar between BJJ and many striking styles. It's just as easy to get a joint hyperextended during a grappling session as it is to get hurt sparring. The key to sparring is you need to set the expectations right off the bat. Don't be afraid to speak right up and tell them to back it off a bit. Nobody will think any less of you and if they do then screw them.


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Don't be afraid to speak right up and tell them to back it off a bit. Nobody will think any less of you and if they do then screw them.

And if someone doesn't honor that request, by all means, refuse to roll with them in the future - same deal, no one will think less of you. If the guy's an ass to everyone, and everyone starts refusing to roll with him, he's not going to have anyone left to train with in short order...
 
And if someone doesn't honor that request, by all means, refuse to roll with them in the future - same deal, no one will think less of you. If the guy's an ass to everyone, and everyone starts refusing to roll with him, he's not going to have anyone left to train with in short order...

Even better, is when the instructor sees what happens and decides to roll with them.

I was among the bigger of the experienced guys in my school, didn't have the belts just the time on the mat. I'd always get the big new guys to roll with and would be super chill and try to explain that we weren't street wrasslin and to just focus on the technique they'd been shown and I would let them work. Every once in a while I'd pull a fucking meat head that was out to hurt me. After seeing me going crazy hard on that guy (which was never my style) one of the senior blue or purple belts would take the guy and ride him like a cheap toupee. Just absolutely demolish the guy and take every opportunity to make it hurt just a little. After class they'd have a talk and explain that if the guy was there to train and learn he was welcome back, if he was there to try to hurt people and be a dickhead then he was welcome back for s nightly ass kicking until he got tired of it, but he'd be better suited at a different school.

We had ONE guy who came into the school and was just ridiculously talented. I mean fucking supernaturally gifted at GJJ. He made Blue faster than anyone our Black Belt had ever promoted and was well on his way to Purple on the same pace until he just became an absolute arrogant ass and started hurting guys unnecessarily in training. I went from respecting him and being in awe of his talent to refusing to train with him. Soon thereafter a number of other guys refused as well. At the next seminar our Black Belt got the vibe and tossed him from the school. It was that kind of "integrity" within the sport that made me love it above the other styles I'd done.
 
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If a guy the was say 42 years old, 6'3", 235 #s, in reasonable shape wanted to start this, how would you suggest he find a place to train? Questions he should ask? What should he be weary of?

I would be interested in it from a self defense real world interest as opposed to a sport/social/contest type experience.

Feel free to PM me with any suggestions. I am in the Columbia SC area.

Ryan
 
If a guy the was say 42 years old, 6'3", 235 #s, in reasonable shape wanted to start this, how would you suggest he find a place to train? Questions he should ask? What should he be weary of?

I would be interested in it from a self defense real world interest as opposed to a sport/social/contest type experience.

Feel free to PM me with any suggestions. I am in the Columbia SC area.

Ryan

Shot you a PM with a possible starting point in your area
 
Even better, is when the instructor sees what happens and decides to roll with them.

Yeah, that's fun, too :)

It was that kind of "integrity" within the sport that made me love it above the other styles I'd done.

That's a big attractant for me, too. I've only had one guy I've refused to roll with - young kid, super aggressive blue belt (I'm also a blue). He got super over zealous about trying to armbar me, and ended up hyper extending my elbow. I was out for a few weeks, but didn't need surgery. Part of my refusal to train with him is that he doesn't respect the limit or his training partners... and the other is that I know myself and recognize that I may well violate that trust myself rolling with him (ie... with intent to injure him as some sort of half assed revenge bullshit), and I don't want to be "that guy". Maybe if he'd actually acknowledged that he went too far, or was apologetic about it, I might feel differently, but... whatever. Plenty of other, respectful dudes to train with at the gym...

 
Yeah, that's fun, too :)



That's a big attractant for me, too. I've only had one guy I've refused to roll with - young kid, super aggressive blue belt (I'm also a blue). He got super over zealous about trying to armbar me, and ended up hyper extending my elbow. I was out for a few weeks, but didn't need surgery. Part of my refusal to train with him is that he doesn't respect the limit or his training partners... and the other is that I know myself and recognize that I may well violate that trust myself rolling with him (ie... with intent to injure him as some sort of half assed revenge bullshit), and I don't want to be "that guy". Maybe if he'd actually acknowledged that he went too far, or was apologetic about it, I might feel differently, but... whatever. Plenty of other, respectful dudes to train with at the gym...

Yep, sounds like the same mindset of the guy I referenced.

One of the enormous things I took away from training with Ryron Gracie was the importance of shedding your ego and being willing to tap to a good technique in training. He was totally down to earth about tapping not meaning anything when you're learning. That's why I always had such great sessions with senior guys was that I was under no pressure. This kid in particular was phenomenal and I was never in danger of catching him the way I could with some of the other guys who were senior to me. Yet he would go full the fuck out and would hyper extend me before I could submit. I didn't even do that shit on the street, once the bad guy knew he was fucked I gave him the opportunity to comply rather than hurting him unnecessarily.

I had had a multi-time world champion Brazilian guy from Brazilian Top Team that accidentally dislocated my shoulder. He couldn't have been nicer about it, stopped immediately, nearly had tears in his eyes and was freaking out that he'd hurt a junior training partner. I had mad respect for guys like that.

Where I typically saw really rough sessions was when you had guys who were ready for advancement but the senior guys just couldn't bring themselves to tap to a junior guy so they'd ride out horrible positions forever rather than tap. I gave up several submissions on guys who had been my teachers because I knew they'd never tap to me and I wasn't going to hurt a guy I respected or fully put him out in a choke simply to "win". They knew I had them, just like I knew when someone had caught me.

There's no pretenders in BJJ, it all comes out on the mat.

Damn y'all have me missing dislocated fingers and toes and perpetual Gi rash on my face.
 
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the instructor i had in college would tell us that there is no reason to rush a submission, arm bar or choke or any of them. if you have it and your technique is correct then they are screwed and ease into the pressure. same thing for the guy being put into the submission. try to get out but also know that when you are caught just to tap.

My instructor would let us practice moves on him just to show everyone that nobody is above tapping out. everybody taps and not to do so is just going to get you hurt and/or permanently removed from the sport due to injuries.

I have bad ankles and knees so when i would spar, i would tell the guy i was sparring with to be easy on the leg submissions and if he had them that i would tap without pressure. but, if you want to be that guy that wants to try and tear my ankle off my leg then you are getting a heal to the face real quick. I was always upfront about that as I want to learn technique and also teach it to the guys below or above me. I only had 1 guy try that and he learned real quick that i meant what i say. I have had my nose broken twice in class due to accidents from a throw that landed wrong and an elbow that swung around when i was moving that hit the button on the nose. both times were accidents and both times my sparring partner freaked out that it happened and stopped right away to make sure i was good. accidents happen and those are fine since they are unintentional but i will not hesitate to stop sparring with someone that is trying to hurt me intentionally for an ego gain.

you dont go to training to win or stroke your ego. you go to train. train with people that want to train and help each other learn. You will run across idiots every now and again but lets be honest, they out number us now-a-days in every aspect of life.
 
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BearNaked, excellent points. Much better stated than I did. That's what pissed me off so much about the kid I referred to earlier. Everyone in the school knew that I was postponing surgeries on both of my shoulders and that I would tap INSTANTLY to a Kimora, arm bar, etc. there was no point in fighting it. That little shit would go full pressure immediately. The owner of the school had horrible knees that eventually required surgery. Only a full fucking douche would shoot a leg submission on a guy with bad knees. My better friends enjoyed training with me when my shoulders were "off limits" because they had to find new submissions. They'd even say to me "you know I had an arm bar there" to help me be better aware of giving something up. I didn't need them to prove it.
 
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BearNaked, excellent points. Much better stated than I did. That's what pissed me off so much about the kid I referred to earlier. Everyone in the school knew that I was postponing surgeries on both of my shoulders and that I would tap INSTANTLY to a Kimora, arm bar, etc. there was no point in fighting it. That little shit would go full pressure immediately. The owner of the school had horrible knees that eventually required surgery. Only a full fucking douche would shoot a leg submission on a guy with bad knees. My better friends enjoyed training with me when my shoulders were "off limits" because they had to find new submissions. They'd even say to me "you know I had an arm bar there" to help me be better aware of giving something up. I didn't need them to prove it.

yea that is chicken shit of that guy. he is lucky you let him walk out on his own power. that is the difference between us and them. they come into our world trying to hurt us but yet we have the restraint to only damage their ego instead of their body.

I had a guy with a bad shoulder and he would let me do the arm submissions just to practice but we both had the understanding that it is just locking in the technique with no pressure like you are saying. Me and him would train for ways for him to fight those off so when he deals with someone without a brain that they couldnt hurt him even if they tried. we trained a lot of unorthodox moves that were super nasty but yet really simple.

Miss the days of rolling on the floor. a lot of good times.

 
yea that is chicken shit of that guy. he is lucky you let him walk out on his own power. that is the difference between us and them. they come into our world trying to hurt us but yet we have the restraint to only damage their ego instead of their body.

I had a guy with a bad shoulder and he would let me do the arm submissions just to practice but we both had the understanding that it is just locking in the technique with no pressure like you are saying. Me and him would train for ways for him to fight those off so when he deals with someone without a brain that they couldnt hurt him even if they tried. we trained a lot of unorthodox moves that were super nasty but yet really simple.

Miss the days of rolling on the floor. a lot of good times.

That guy was half my size and could've kicked my ass in about 5 different ways and I don't freely admit that about many people. It was sad because he really was a prodigy. I'm sure that once he got kicked out he found another school and probably continued to advance at a lightning pace. Our school was just a very pure Gracie lineage and our Black Belt took character into consideration. I've found that most schools are the same way, which is one the many reasons GJJ/BJJ stood out compared to so many "Black Belt factories" in other disciplines.
 
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Went to my first class last night. More of a cardio work out than I expected. Enjoyed it though.

Is there any way to keep you toes from snagging your partners gi when your rolling?

Ryan
 
Went to my first class last night. More of a cardio work out than I expected. Enjoyed it though.

It's big time cardio. Once you learn to relax, it'll get better, though it'll still be taxing.

Is there any way to keep you toes from snagging your partners gi when your rolling?

Just don't put them in his/her gi? LOL... Those kinds of things will get better over time - it's partially a control issue, and partially learning how to use and/or avoid your partner's gi while you're rolling. Even after some time, you'll still find yourself tangled up every once in a while. You'll also learn to recognize when you're actually in danger from it, or just at a disadvantage. Get ready for mat burn, too... ha ha.
 
Wrestled all thru high school and miss the hell out of it! Really good for making you insanely balls out aggressive. Wasnt until I started wrestling that I learned the meaning of dig deep, found out how to pull a level of effort outta myself that I aint know existed and I think many others also just simply dont know how to try as hard as wrestling teaches you to lol. Im talking like 1001% effort literally going as hard as you possibly can. Obviously this expends incredible energy and consequently wrestling requires more intense cardio than ANY other sport hands down IMO. I can tell you for a fact wrestling had the most difficult conditioning of any sport at my school by far. Really wish my college had a wrestling club. I know yall bjj motherfuckers would submit me all day but still wrestling is great for teaching fighting for position and then keeping that position once ya get there.... love it personally its great for knocking down/letting out the personal demons and rage in some of us..

Really wish we coulda seen't this gentleman transition onto MMA and grappling. What a beast, undefeated thru his ENTIRE high school AND Div1 NCAA career!:
https://youtu.be/4HeI3O-sVzI
 
I couldn't help but chuckle at the Ankle Picks. My black belt, who was an OLD-school guy, used to joke that there weren't any leg locks in BJJ until they started letting women train. In two years I'd never even seen one until I did a Ryron seminar. My black belt told me to never try that "gay shit" in his gym. It was weird how some of the instructors had their little quirks about that stuff. Some schools worked leg submissions constantly.
 
I know yall bjj motherfuckers would submit me all day but still wrestling is great for teaching fighting for position and then keeping that position once ya get there....

Wouldn't disagree at all. Wrestling is fantastic. Once you figure out that you're not winning against a BJJ guy who's flat on his back, and learn to not give up your back and keep your elbows in, you might be surprised how well you'd fare if you still have/had that conditioning level, and wrestling chops.
 
Wouldn't disagree at all. Wrestling is fantastic. Once you figure out that you're not winning against a BJJ guy who's flat on his back, and learn to not give up your back and keep your elbows in, you might be surprised how well you'd fare if you still have/had that conditioning level, and wrestling chops.

Totally agree. We loved having wrestling or Judo guys in class, they helped us dramatically with our take downs and they learned a lot on the ground.
 
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Wouldn't disagree at all. Wrestling is fantastic. Once you figure out that you're not winning against a BJJ guy who's flat on his back, and learn to not give up your back and keep your elbows in, you might be surprised how well you'd fare if you still have/had that conditioning level, and wrestling chops.

Ive done ok against my buddy who trains grappling. He wasnt sure how to deal with me at first, as I guess bjj teaches you to utilize different base/hip position. In wrestling, were putting all our weight on you and making it as uncomfortable as possible for you while having hips super low to the ground and legs/feet flayed out. He hasnt been able to sweep me once outta all the times weve rolled around. But unfortunately like I said theres no such thing as pacing yourself in wrestling so he almost always has let me get that position Im fighting for while using all my energy in the process and he just weathers the storm until Im tired.
Even though I dont know much about bjj, one dude that I love to watch is Marcelo Garcia... jeez that fucker is a machine!
https://youtu.be/2BOg4pGr3nI
 
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So glad to see a BJJ thread here. At first I was just going to be an old Army grunt getting back into shooting, with little to share, and lots of learning. Then a great thread like this pops up to make the place feel like home. On September 2nd, I'll have a total of 35 years martial arts training. I was a Karate black belt by the time I enlisted in the Army, which was cool back then. But in 93, when I had my first MMA fight (called NHB back then), I got my ass whooped like a school boy by a Muay Thai guy. So I started training Muay Thai in 93. And then I got hooked into BJJ in 96. I learned directly from a Brazilian Master level guy for 12 years. He lived with me off and on for most of those years (his brother was also the Prez/CEO of Taurus Firearms, to we did BJJ with guns a LOT). We had a biz falling out in 07. Now I'm with an amazing Brazilian who's also armed with Olympic level wrestling and Judo. So our classes are quite diverse and fun. I'm also a boxing guy. My current coach is one of the former coaches from the Cuban Olympic Boxing team. MA is an addiction that'll never leave ya, even if you get hurt and have to quit.

To any old guy that's considering taking up BJJ; do it. Do not hesitate. Most of my newer students are "older" guys. Meaning, guys breaking the 40 barrier. My BJJ used to be hyper aggressive thanks to the nature of my former coach. Attack attack attack. As I've gotten older, it's become more about old age and treachery. :)
In all seriousness, you can enjoy the mats as much as the young farts if you know how best to use your old ass geometry to your advantage.

At this point, when I train with the younger guys, I go ahead and start in a bad position: Ie, stuck in side control, mounted, etc. And simply use the right defenses and counters to get out of the bad spot. Frankly, it's fun because they work like hell to get your old ass to tap. They get gassed, you reverse and punish them with pressure, or crank in a submission.

You'll be sore, but you will also be satisfied. There is something very primal about BJJ. Same with Muay Thai and Boxing; but BJJ is primal on much different level. BJJ is one of the most satisfying activities ever.

If anyone is ever in the Atlanta area, and wants to do some training, beer drinking and shit talking, mi casa su casa. If you are a seasoned grappler, by all means, drop a line; I love trading ideas.
 
Trained BJJ for five years . Competed in NAGA. and during that time did one non sanctioned MMA fight . The only time I got hurt was in the gym training .
Was training for a tournament with the number 1 super heavy weight at the time John Ponds .
I was in his gaurd and just couldn't break it and was tryin to keep from being swept and gettin
255lbs on top of me . I got to sqaure and flat on my shins and feet tops . Next thing I know is this guy moves like lightening sits up hooks his giant ass leg behind my left knee and takes me over backward . Folded me up ( swept) me with his leg between upper and lower leg and feet tops flat . That was a nice trip to the ER
Had another big guy on me in a mount . The guy was clumsy as fuck . He decides to start surfin position totry and confuse me wound up kneein me in the fuckin ear . Found out a few years later inner ear bone broken and ear drum and bone covered in scar tissue . They removed bonebone , ear drum and scar tissue then grafted a new ear drum . I need to go back for prosthetic bone so I can hear .
One time doin no Gi got another big guy in double under hooks and was setting to take him over my hip and down . He realized whats was going on and starts literally jumping all over the place . I finally said fuck it and stepped out wide with my right foot . As the foot went down my and Captain Kangaroos body weight came down at the same time on one foot . Snapped that fucker right behind the ball . After I took him over finished him with an armbar .
Last time I was in the gym I went to open mat to roll . Wound up with some twenty year old that thought it was fuckin UfC . I get this guy in my gard and he's smashin me in the jaw and bouncing his forearm off my throat . You don't do that softening shit to experienced people .
When he went on his upstroke I pushed his arm acrossed his chest and proceed to sink a triangle . I rotated him just right and between him being on the downstroke , me pullin him in with legs and arms and his shoulder in just the right spot , snap fuckin rib . Put shit head to sleep for his troubles .
The majority of people I've rolled with are gentlemen but the douche bags ruin it . BJJ has
been bastardized with American brawling . You can't learn or work a technique if the guy your rollin with is fightin all the time .
My brother is one of the biggest offenders . Always brawlin and muscling, that's not Jiu Jitsu .
After the broken rib I decided this shit don't pay the bills and I gotta be in work tomorrow .
That was forty five .
After training and fighting since 17 it really effin hurts to get up in the morning at 51 .
 
My Daughter in law loves this sport! She's a feisty little half Navajo and Chinese, all of 4'11" and 108 fighting weight. Prodigy is a good title to give her. It was 3 years before she placed below first in her division at the tournaments!

One of the funniest things I've witnessed in life was of her fighting an open weight match. Her opponent won her own division so she was no slouch and weighed somewhere around 160. At the start her opponent literally threw Mei to the ground which really pissed Mei off, I could see fire in her eyes,lol. We that knew Mei were thinking, oh crap, this time she's going to get tore up for sure, but it wasn't a minute later Mei had that big girl submitted via choke hold!

I thought about joining up but the last thing I am is flexible, I can't even straighten arms all the way at the elbow and then there's the old shoulder, back and knee injuries.

I do love watching MMA though
 
2 years in - competing at Superheavyweight. Love it. Out with a Staph infection for the week but can’t wait to get back
 
Been training for 3 years now. Started at a Royce Gracie seminar and was hooked. Other martial arts my whole life before that. Compared to BJJ, it was mostly wasted time. Can't agree more with the guy who said there is a difference between BJJ and GJJ. Not good or bad, but for my style of learning and my interests, GJJ is best.

For those of you with little kids, buy access to the Gracie Games online. I started rolling with my little girls 3 years ago, and now the oldest goes to class twice a week and loves it. The younger can't wait to start class either, but she's still a little young. Best thing you can do for kids self protection, especially girls.